Fugue in B minor No. 3

First organ fugue! This one particularly has been quite thrilling to compose due to it being a remastered version of my second fugue in G-sharp minor, which I posted incomplete around some 10 months ago.

I would also appreciate quite a lot if actual organists (quick reminder; I can only play the violin, hence why I am unable to play this piece myself) could tell if it's playable at all. When it comes to technical performance in my compositions I generally have no idea if they are actually playable for previously explained reasons, and so any feedback is always much appreciated.

Hi @Nhloki!  I don't play the organ but generally go by the rule that, if it's playable on piano, it's playable on organ.  For the foot pedals, the organist has two feet to work with, so even pretty large leaps should be practical.

Just some points to consider:

1. Measure 7 beat 2 in the left hand - shouldn't that be an E#?  I guess you changed the mostly real answer of the subject here in order to avoid a clash between the E# in the left hand and the F# in the right hand?  I don't really think that's necessary as the F# is a passing tone.
2. That's a pretty long bridge you have taking you back into the key of B minor (I count 5 measures).  I would even call it an episode, which isn't supposed to happen until after all the voices state the subject.
3. Measure 15 beat 2 in the feet - once again you change the subject and instead of an A# you have a G# which I don't think is necessary.
4. The episode that starts in measure 16 is at first pretty good but quickly becomes labored and overly drawn out as it struggles to transition to a distantly related G minor for the next middle entry (measure 41)
   1. The keys that are usually modulated to in the Baroque period should be diatonically present in the original key so in this case the choice should be G major since Bb is not diatonic to B minor
   2. If it were me writing this fugue I wouldn't try to modulate with any particular key in mind - I would just try to introduce chromaticism and see/hear where it would take me (I think this kind of approach would prevent the kind of labored and overly long transition you have written between measures 20 and 41)
   3. Measure 36 beat 4 where you first introduce the Bb seems especially forced to me and doesn't sound quite right.
5. Kudos on accomplishing a pretty good stretto in measure 41 (once you get there).  It works because the keys of the stretto entries are diatonic to each other (G minor and Eb major)
6. The following entry in measure 45 (in D minor) is not interjected with it's own episode.
7. Measures 48 through 51 are impossible to play on the foot pedals (they are also an octave lower than regular bass clef notes so they can't catch the left hands notes like you have in measure 48 beat 4 and 5).  The giant chords you have cannot be played with just two feet on the pedals and they would sound way more muddy since the pedals are an octave lower than written.
8. I just realized I missed a middle entry in measure 28 (in A minor) /-:

In general a common mistake that fugue-writers make which you also make here is filling up all the space.  The constant barrage of contrapuntal rhythms is very difficult for the ear to take and gets tiresome pretty quickly.  Also, a big part of writing accessible and easily recognizable subjects and counter-subjects is having rests at strategic points during the melody.  That's my take on this fugue.  Thanks for sharing!

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Measure 36 beat 4 where you first introduce the Bb seems especially forced to me and doesn't sound quite right.

Same thoughts there; I should have planned the development of that episode more thoroughly, by which I absolutely corroborate your 4th point. Silly mistakes of I novice, writing a fugue with no prior planning [sighs]. Same for points 6 and 7, as for the latter I have no excuse, I utterly forgot pedal bass notes are actually an octave lower than regular bass clef notes when composing that passage.

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1. Measure 7 beat 2 in the left hand - shouldn't that be an E#?  I guess you changed the mostly real answer of the subject here in order to avoid a clash between the E# in the left hand and the F# in the right hand?  I don't really think that's necessary as the F# is a passing tone.

3. Measure 15 beat 2 in the feet - once again you change the subject and instead of an A# you have a G# which I don't think is necessary.

It might be unnecessary, but I really couldn't stand that dissonance. If the point you also imply is that mutation especifically there reduces independence between voices, then I cannot do but agree.

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In general a common mistake that fugue-writers make which you also make here is filling up all the space.  The constant barrage of contrapuntal rhythms is very difficult for the ear to take and gets tiresome pretty quickly.  Also, a big part of writing accessible and easily recognizable subjects and counter-subjects is having rests at strategic points during the melody.

Will take that into account for future fugue attempts of mine, thank you so much for reviewing my work!

23 minutes ago, Nhloki said:

Will take that into account for future fugues of mine, thank you so much for reviewing my work!

You're welcome and I look forward to hearing your future attempts! (-:

How do you play a 4 note chord with tho feet?

the piece is good. But the pedal line is too active/quick in some parts, imo.

On 9/15/2020 at 7:03 AM, Luis Hernández said:

How do you play a 4 note chord with tho feet?

Fixed it.

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the piece is good. But the pedal line is too active/quick in some parts, imo.

Part of the same mistake of filling up all the contrapunctal fabric with no rests whatsoever. I'll bear in mind that for future fugue attempts too. Thanks for reviewing!

Notice also that the pedals in the organ work much better with leaps than with scales or step by step notes. Try to do a quick scale with the feet!