You are on page 1of 1

Fugue In music, a fugue (pron.

: /fju/ FEWG) is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and recurs frequently in the course of the composition. he !nglish term fugue originated in the "#th century and is derived from the $rench word fugue or the Italian fuga. his in turn comes from %atin, also fuga, which is itself related to both fugere (&to flee&) and fugare (&to chase&).'"( he adjectival form is fugal.')( *ariants include fughetta (literally, &a small fugue&) and fugato (a passage in fugal style within another wor+ that is not a fugue).',( - fugue usually has three sections: an e.position, a development, and a recapitulation containing the return of the subject in the fugue/s tonic +ey, though not all fugues have a recapitulation.'0( In the 1iddle -ges, the term was widely used to denote any wor+s in canonic style2 by the 3enaissance, it had come to denote specifically imitative wor+s.'4( 5ince the "6th century,'#( the term fugue has described what is commonly regarded as the most fully developed procedure of imitative counterpoint. '6( 1ost fugues open with a short main theme, the subject,'7( which then sounds successively in each voice (after the first voice is finished stating the subject, a second voice repeats the subject at a different pitch, and other voices repeat in the same way)2 when each voice has entered, the exposition is complete. his is often followed by a connecting passage, or episode, developed from previously heard material2 further &entries& of the subject then are heard in related +eys. !pisodes (if applicable) and entries are usually alternated until the &final entry& of the subject, by which point the music has returned to the opening +ey, or tonic, which is often followed by closing material, the coda.',('8( In this sense, a fugue is a style of composition, rather than a fi.ed structure. he form evolved during the "7th century from several earlier types of contrapuntal compositions, such as imitative ricercars, capriccios, can9onas, and fantasias.'":( he famous fugue composer ;ohann 5ebastian <ach ("#74="64:) shaped his own wor+s after those of ;ohann ;a+ob $roberger ("#"#= "##6), ;ohann >achelbel ("#4,="6:#), ?irolamo $rescobaldi ("47,="#0,), @ieterich <u.tehude (c. "#,6="6:6), and other composers.'":( Aith the decline of sophisticated styles at the end of the baroque period, the fugue/s central role waned, eventually giving way as sonata form and the symphony orchestra rose to a dominant position.'""( Bevertheless, composers continued to write and study fugues for various purposes2 they appear in the wor+s of Aolfgang -madeus 1o9art ("64#="68")'""( and %udwig van <eethoven ("66:="7)6),'""( as well as modern composers such as @mitri 5hosta+ovich ("8:#="864).'")(

You might also like