Young Composers' Fugue Challenge

I have a fugue based on no. 6 in E-Minor in progress, but could somebody just check I am doing the right sort of thing at the moment. I have never before written a fugue or had any real training on how a fugue is supposed to work, so I would appreciate some help.

Thanks :w00t:

Also note that I know it is unplayable. I am not a pianist, and so I am doing this on Sibelius merely as an exercise with no intention of a performance.

My advice to you would be to listen to two Bach fugues before every time you write. They really help set the mood. Your writing sounds very fresh and madrigal-ish, but has very little fugue in it.

There are some rules you should follow, too, in how to write a reply. For instance, a good reply to E-C-B-F#-B-F#-G (the subject you used) might be B-E-D-C#-F#-C#-D. normally it's more about contour than the notes, and the first and fifth usually interchange.

I wrote a short example. Try to listen to how the voices enter, as this is usually the most "dramatic" part of a fugue.

http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=7586&stc=1&d=1185416212

http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=7587&stc=1&d=1185416212

Your gusto and rhythmic inventiveness are very much appreciated, though!

Ariel

Eminor - example.MID

Eminor- example.mus

Comment withdrawn.

What the hell happened to Brandon?

He left.

Here's my lastest (second) attempt at Fugal writing. It's not a strict fugue, since the third entry is still in the dominant (so I've called it a Fugal Invention) and I've cheated quite a bit to avoid conspicuously horrid inversions. My aim at this stage is just to write something baroque-sounding and tolerable. The last few bars of the piece as it stands are rather silly. . .

Obviously it's incomplete, but I only started it a couple of evenings ago. Any advice for developmental devices I might like to encorporate, or any ideas for treatments that jump out at you would be much appreciated.

Fugal Invention in C minor.mid

Wow, this potentially wonderful thread has been dead for so long that I decided to actually post something in hopes of mildly reviving it. I think the shinanigans of earlier are done with.

This fuguette is on the first theme and is for a standard four-voice choir. When I heard the theme, I immediately thought of the text to a Palestrina motet (the one by the same name). So I set it, and the overall form was decided by the text.

The work itself is nothing special, and it certainly doesn't follow strict classical counterpoint. There is even one parallel fifth and a few other classically strict no-nos, but anyone who cares can bite me.

Other than that, I don't actually know what the score looks like as my friend transcribed it for me using notepad (I dislike notation software, at least any I can afford), so I'm not actually sure if the text is even there (or accurate). It's not a big deal, as the midi was generated from the score, but some notes (such as the last few bars in the soprano) only really make sense when one considers that text is involved.

Hope you enjoy, and hope this makes at least some people reinterested in this thread, if even just to comment on how much they hate this piece.:P

Ascendo (1).MUS

Ascendo.MID

I too shall try to help resurrect this thread.

I've written a handful of fairly compliant bach-style fugues over the last few months, but my music teacher complained that they were *too* Bachian in form and style; he tried to ban from me listening to Bach, loading me with Hindemith and Walton instead (naturally, I had broken his command within about twenty minutes). The following files are of the exposition and middle entries of a neo-classical fugue in an unspecified key. This is a work that's wholly in progress; there are several sections that I just sketched out so I could keep composing!

I tried to upload a spreadsheet 'map' of the fugue, but YC refused to cooperate. In essence the current material comprises an exposition, counterexposition of the inversus, canon of the rectus at the third, middle entries of the rectus and inversus in unrelated keys and middle entries of the rectus at the unison and octave followed by a brief fantasia section (based on material from the prelude) after which I intend to bring back the subject in augmentation (I've added some rubbish to 'simulate' what it might sound like).

I'm welcome to receive feedback, provided the reviewers bear in mind the supposed genre of the composition - neoclassicism (i.e. I'm not interested in hearing how many hundreds of parallel fifths I've used!)

Many thanks, and I hope you enjoy the piece.

neofugue.mid

neofugue.sib

To me your neoclassical fugue doesn't sound too "neo"; it has some very classic moments too, until of course the end, which struck me as a bit unrelated, though nice. You should post some of your Bachian fugues too; I would really enjoy hearing them. Well done!

I too have been keeping up the Baroque-style composing, but I don't feel too inclined to post anything because most of the Baroque people seem to have left this forum. Everyone else seems uninterested in anything so connected to the past.

By the way, what is the name on your harpsichord picture? Where is that harpsichord?; it looks familiar....

Don't worry; I figured it out; it's the Willard Martin harpsichord sampled by Milan Digital Audio.... I wish they gave more information on their site:

Located at The University of Illinois, this double manual harpsichord was built by Willard Martin in the Saxon tradition and strung in brass. It has a range of 61 notes, chromatic from FF to f3, and a disposition of 2x8' and 1x4'. Keyboards transpose to two positions, ( a' = 415, and 440 ). Each stop was recorded individually, chromatically and with two different release samples. The harpsichord samples are currently available in Hauptwerk (requires version 1.21), and .WAV format.

I'm not sure, however, what this Saxon style is. It just looks like a French double to me.

I'm welcome to receive feedback, provided the reviewers bear in mind the supposed genre of the composition - neoclassicism (i.e. I'm not interested in hearing how many hundreds of parallel fifths I've used!)

Could you please provide a PDF of the piece? I don't have Sibelius nor Finale (I'm on Linux).

And not all the Baroque fans have left: I'm still there :)

So if you care to post some of your Bach-like fugues, please I would enjoy that.

Count me in! .. Bach too connected with the past!! what! Bach is more alive than anyone, his music is in constant flux. I look forward to hearing your fugues.

Unfortunately (or, rather fortunately) I worked them all out on manuscript. None is particularly outstanding, although I feel that some of the expositions were rather clever - I've got one on this computer that I'll upload in the near future. It's more pressing that I polish this piece however; my composition tutor grows weary of my constant claims that Bach did [whatever technique we're studying] far better than [whicever composer we're looking at] 300 years earlier.

In the mean time, I'm trying to sort out a score. Sibelius refuses to export something nice-sized, and YC won't accept large PNG or JPG files. Garrrgh. This is why I prefer manuscript. I'd still appreciate verbal comment, if possible, whilst I sort this out.

(I listened to the whole St John Passion today. It still sends shivers down my spine, even when I know exactly what's coming!)

I like this interactive opus. It would be interesting if it lasts for centuries. I'm surprised no one has done the D Major. That is majestic. I might...

he tried to ban from me listening to Bach, loading me with Hindemith and Walton

That is discouraging of him.

The C major subject reminded me of the first fugue of WTC book 1 - you'll hear my inspiration immediately. Here is my first attempt at a 5-voice fugue - I think it came out pretty well.

mp3:

www.jdauriemma.com/fugue4.mp3

images of score (.tif):

www.jdauriemma.com/CMfugue001.TIF

www.jdauriemma.com/CMfugue002.TIF

www.jdauriemma.com/CMfugue003.TIF

www.jdauriemma.com/CMfugue004.TIF

An illustrious member here requested that I re-post my C-major fugue (Subject #1), and so I here oblige. I originally posted it in 2005.

This fugue is set to the text of the Kyrie of the Mass in a style akin to the 18th-Century Italian masters who emulated Palestrina and other 16th-Century polyphonists in their own "modern" manner, going even so far as using the Renaissance part names (Cantus, Altus, Quintus, Tenor, Bassus). It is my first (and only so far) fugue in 5 voices.

I remember having a lot of fun with this while busting my arse on it at the same time. It's not an easy subject to treat because of the long tied note in the middle, creating unique harmonic problems as well as opportunities, which I exploited in as many ways as I could think of. If you examine it closely, you'll see double statements of the subject in harmony, inverted statements, stretto, etc...the whole shebang.

Here's hoping this rekindles some interest in this thread. Truly, Brandon Homayouni (Recursion) has a genius for creating provocative fugue subjects that practically beg to be treated, and which summon forth our best creative efforts. I mean this: working these subjects - and I didn't even work all of them - changed my life as a composer. I have never learnt so much from someone so much younger than myself. I encourage you all to try your hand at any and all of these. Enjoy in good health!

Fuga a 5 voci in Do super thema Bendani Homayounii - Kyrie

I fancy having a go at either the C or D major subjects, but I'm worried that my knowledge of harmony like i've seen used in the earlier fugues and my knowledge of fugues aren't good enough :(

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. *beats his breast thrice*

I found an incident of parallel fifths in measure 57 of my C major fugue just recently reposted - completely careless. A simple change of voicing corrected the problem while retaining the exact same harmonic structure.

Let this be a lesson to you all: as I stated in my Fugue Lesson, it's really easy to get careless once the rules loosen up after the exposition of a fugue. Watch out for illegal parallels at every step of the process. They'll creep up on you if you're not careful.

I've posted a corrected PDF in my previous post.

Miserere mei, Domine.

Here's my effort on mr. Homayouni's e minor subject. I will try my hand at the others.

emfuguea3.mid

It's ok to still reply here right : P?

This is one of my first attempts at a fugue so any comments are appreciated.

-Bob

Fugue in D.pdf

Fugue in D.mid

As a beginner, do you think I should start with this? I saw a "crash course" for fugue writing thread. Perhaps I should start there, then come back here? I have briefly tried to teach myself some basic counterpoint, but I'm not sure how I would place myself skill wise.

Here is a little four-part fughetta I made hastily yesterday, based upon the b-minor subject. Does it sound awful? During the years I've begun to write several fugues (I still have the drafts) but I just can't really get further than the exposition - this short, awkward piece was an exception in this regard, that's why I decided to post it here.

hmoll.MID

Two fugues I did. This thread is so fun!!!!!!

Fugue in Eb Major.mid

Fugue in G Major.mid

I don't think you know what a fugue is.