Reflections

The last 4 notes of the subject form a strong and clear motive that permeates the texture of most of this fugue. The middle voice completes the first subject entry then begins the countersubject. The countersubject begins with a sequence that is formed by the last three notes of the subject, much like an echo (with the first beat implied). This motive thereafter appears at the end of the subject (4 notes), in the countersubject (3 notes) and in several episodes in both 3 and 4 note length. This fugue makes vivid the statement that "fugue" is not necessarily a form, but a procedure, a process, a development technique. At times, it appears that an entire fugue is generated from or pulled out of the densely reticulated potentials of the subject itself, like a plant from a seed, or a sculpture from unique piece of stone.