The Art of Composing a Fugue for a Melodic Instrument

Abstract

The article explores the structure of polyphonic compositions for melodic instruments. The study found that the use of bowed string and wind instruments impacts a composer’s polyphonic technique. Fugues for melodic instruments employ either of the two options: the use of wind instruments, which, as is the case with the human voice, produce only one sound, or the use of bowed string instruments with incomparably greater possibilities. Therefore, polyphonic “kunstücks” for strings are much more common, since the possibility of performing two or more sounds gives way for polyphonic texture. Composing a fugue for a melodic instrument, composers sometimes resort to a special technique that creates the illusion of full-fledged polyphony—the so-called branching of the voice. Branching means that themes and counterpoint are written for different registers rather than for different voices (basically impossible for winds). This leads to the appearance of independent lines within the branched voice. Composing a fugue in such a rigid framework requires compliance with a number of requirements in relation to each of its components: from the theme and counter-theme to interludes and stretches. The analytical part of the report shows typical modifications of the established form and provides examples of the combination of polyphonic and instrumental performing techniques.

Keywords: fugue for a melodic instrument, branching of the voice, Telemann, Britten, Schnittke, Doráti

For citation: Goretsky A. P. The Art of Composing a Fugue for a Melodic Instrument [Electronic source]. In: Sovremennye problemy muzykoznaniya / Contemporary Musicology, 2022, no. 2, pp. 172–186. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.56620/2587-9731-2022-2-172-186