Unfinished Fugue

Recently I began writing a fugue on the b-minor subject of the fugue challenge thread. So far I've reached my second episode. I'm planning on another middle entry, a third episode, and a short reexposition perhaps in stretto. But I've ran out of ideas for the next episode.

What are your favorite contrapuntal techniques in episodes? My first episode uses a rising motive imitated canonically in all the voices. My second episode has a short sequence and then melodic inversion of the first episode.

Unfortunately I don't have a pdf; I understand if you can't comment without a score, but I would really appreciate anyone's suggestions or comments. And the mp3 is much better than the MIDI.

Thanks

Ricercar b-moll - eSnips, share anything

I have to admit I was PLEASANTLY surprised. Your textures are lovely and, while authentic, are quite unique. Make sure when you finish this to post the completion in the "historic" fugue challenge thread.

Originally Posted by echurchill

Recently I began writing a fugue on the b-minor subject of the fugue challenge thread. So far I've reached my second episode. I'm planning on another middle entry, a third episode, and a short reexposition perhaps in stretto. But I've ran out of ideas for the next episode.

What are your favorite contrapuntal techniques in episodes? My first episode uses a rising motive imitated canonically in all the voices. My second episode has a short sequence and then melodic inversion of the first episode.

Unfortunately I don't have a pdf; I understand if you can't comment without a score, but I would really appreciate anyone's suggestions or comments. And the mp3 is much better than the MIDI.

Thanks

Ricercar b-moll - eSnips, share anything

Exciting subject, I will follow the progress of your Ricercar, the rising chromatic tones open up doors to a forgotten era.

Fredrik

I really like it once the fugue-proper is underway. You've really managed to make your subject stand out against against the rest of the texture. I just want to hear the rest of it really! I think perhaps the tonality takes slightly too long to be firmly established during the answer, but common consensus seems to be that the exposition is the hardest section of a fugue to complete convincingly.

I wish you luck with the rest of the fugue.

This is nice although I was sort of enjoying the old ricercar approach you had in the earlier version. I also kind of liked the exposition you had in the earlier one more, with the 3rd entry in the higher voice, and the double-neighbornote figure was also nice for development (its overuse could be worked around), but at the same time I like something you have done here. You have introduced a motive which could be repeated throughout for a long fugal development, and would work well. What you have done here in that sense is more fugal. However I am partial to the approach you were taking in the previous version. The inversions of the subject you have here would work fine in the other one. It's up to you what you do with it, and you have nice ideas in both. They don't both work together if somehow merged as they are different styles. The florid ricercar style of the earlier one was working nicely. I hope you decide on continuing the earlier one and finishing it.

About the exposition, Zetetic, you are totally right; I've rewritten this about five times and the exposition I posted was from an earlier version where I planned on using a countersubject. In this version I abandoned the idea of a fixed countersubject, so I should have gone back to the exposition and put in more varied and more tonal material. Overall, however, I tend towards modality and in most of my music the only strong tonicization is at cadences. This is a result of many weak progressions and the natural minor scale. When I rewrite the exposition, I'll try to have mild cadences between statements of the subject.

PraeludiumUndFuge, I'm not sure if I understand exactly what you mean about a ricercar approach; I understand that as they're presented the two versions are difficult to reconcile, but when I come back to this I might try to rework both motives from a new perspective... the old version is slightly repetitious, the new one perhaps too sequential. I'm probably not going to finish this for a few weeks at least... it was tiring and now I need to rest and work on something else, so that I have more contrapuntal control when I return to it. If I have time, I might make it in two parts, the second faster and jig-like with a toccata-style coda like the cappriccios of Froberger and Buxtehude.

How about you look at what you've done in the development and try to encorporate some of your motivic ideas into the countersubject? Even if it's a free part from the start, having stacatto leaps or something that you can play around with later will lend a sense of cohesion between the exposition and later passages without too much effort on your part.

Otherwise, the first three notes are just crying out for some sort of stretto, inversion or tomfoolery of one sort of another. Try treating the subject in cells if you're stuck for ideas.

Originally Posted by Zetetic

How about you look at what you've done in the development and try to encorporate some of your motivic ideas into the countersubject? Even if it's a free part from the start, having stacatto leaps or something that you can play around with later will lend a sense of cohesion between the exposition and later passages without too much effort on your part.

Otherwise, the first three notes are just crying out for some sort of stretto, inversion or tomfoolery of one sort of another. Try treating the subject in cells if you're stuck for ideas.

This is more or less what I have planned... when I get back to this I'll write a nice concluding stretto. I might add in a few new rhythms somewhere, not wildly divergent, just a hint of contrast. Your idea about the exposition is very wise; perhaps if I write rest of the fugue first, I'll then be able to figure out a more appropriate exposition. I'll post it as soon as I'm done!

You are heading toward more of a fugue with the ascending motive you introduced here, which by its own nature lends itself to a more extended fugal development than what you had before, which was more akin to a compact, probably shorter, rhythmically more florid ricercar. You know the difference between a fugue like a Bach fugue for instance, and the older, shorter ricercars, with multiple expositions. You have gone more in the direction of a fugue here, whereas you had a convincing basis for a smaller ricercar in your previous version. I think that distinction is pretty clear. Just as a personal observation, I liked what you had done before better.

Ahh, yes, now I understand what you mean perfectly. Yes, that is my favorite style of couterpoint overall... actually, even in the previous attempt I wasn't consciously heading in the 17th century direction simply because I lack the resources. Many books will tell me, to the finest details, how to write a Bach-fugue. Shorter but perhaps more interesting and rhythmic fugues in the 17th century style, on the other hand, are almost totally neglected, even by many harpsichordists I know. Thus I am torn between my love for 17th century music, polythematicism, modality, etc, and so many books focusing on Bach, monothematicism, strong tonality. I understand how I may have confused you.

Truthfully, I prefer the 17th century styles as well, but it is very difficult to adjust my knowledge of tonal harmony into something more modal. I'm working on that problem in two directions: I'm still teaching myself the techniques of 18th century harmony, and at the same time I'm exploring modality through Gradus ad Parnassum with Fux. Hopefully soon I'll meet at the halfway point, the great era when composers could freely mix modal and tonal concepts. In fact, that is why I stopped working on this fugue; I've been developing modal techniques for a while. Hopefully later I'll come back to it with a new thematic, rhythmic, and harmonic perspective.