Reflections

This is a good "beginner's" fugue because it is immediately captivating, brisk and dramatic. It is free of nested or layered devices other than the essential texture of fluid three-voice counterpoint. It is quick, clear and exciting. The fugue has an especially compelling and recognizable subject built from two essential ideas: a three note motive preceded by a downward leap from the fifth (dominant), and a sinuous line moving step wise at twice the speed. The initial motive appears twice, first in the tonic and then the dominant harmony. With its leaps and the insistent repetition of quarter notes, the first half of the subject is declamatory, even arresting. The second half swirls up and down with the finesse of smooth and quick motion, starting in the dominant and winding its way back to the tonic. This forward momentum blends directly into a flight of counter material that runs against the next subject entry. With its initially strident call for attention and its subsequent acrobatic flight, the subject seems to say "hey, watch me", and then holds our attention even beyond the boundaries of a new subject entry in a different voice. Sleight of hand is afoot.

While there is a wealth of luxurious counterpoint, no prominent or consistent counter material competes with this gem of a subject. The setting is rich and highly detailed, but the jewel shines singularly bright. But this fugue is paradoxically dominated by episode, passages free of subject entries. The episodic material is similarly pleasing and rich, but it is clearly setting versus stone. It is highly sequential and fragmentary and so smoothly interwoven. It has nothing of the extended coherence of the subject. Though fragmentary, the episodic material meaningful: it is closely allied with the subject . It echoes the subject's initial repeating three note motive over and over. Occasionally, an episode will feint with an apparent subject entry, but after just one motive (rather than the telltale two motives of the full subject), it lingers or it digresses, evaporating as an inconsequential (but clever) false entry.

It is entirely satisfying to approach this fugue with a simple "beginner's" mind: just listen for the subject. Notice when it is present, and when it is absent. Then notice how it appears again. It is as simple as hide and seek.