Double fugue in g minor

Double fugue in gminor scored for 2x oboe, 2x bassoon in g minor. I think i will rearrange the fugue for two pianos...

Written in the mid baroque style, so dont exptect those bach episodes 😉

Please telle me what you think.

SimenN

Nicely done. Perhaps you can share with us how you did this? 

9 minutes ago, Markus Boyd said:

Nicely done. Perhaps you can share with us how you did this? 

 

Thank you Markus, i will try.

I started with the main fugue subject. Early on i decieded to use one or more countersubjets to go along with the main theme.  I will give a short analysis of the developement.

Main subject:

Bar 3 in the tenor voice has the exposition of what is to be one of the reoccuring countersubjects. I will call it main countersubject 1. Much of the developement of the is focused on the developement this countersubject.

In bar 4 the tenor voce will go into the second main countersubject.

The last of the four voices is free counterpoint.

bar 1 - 23 is basicly a large exposition with the main theme and main countersubject 1 and countersubject 2 in different voices and toanlity (tonic or dominant).

From bar 23 - 26 the main countersubject 1 is been developed. The voices will now have a exposition with this version of main countersubject 1

Bar 26 - 38 enters the first episode with figures from main countersubject 1 old version. The episode goes to different keys but ends in b flat major.

Bar 38 - 44, short exposition of the main subject with new verision of countersubject 1 and countersubject 2. bar 44 - 50 Modulates back to g minor with an episodic sequence that ends in c minor

Bar 50 - enters a new developement of countersubject 1 together with main countersubject 2 and the main subject in the key of c minor. There is an exposition of the final version of the main countersubject 1 from bar 50 - 56

Bar 56 is the entry of the second main subect. This subect is a developement of the final version of countersubject 1.

In bar 60 enters the second main subject reoccuring countersubject. second main subject and 2nd main subjects countersubject 1 will enter togehter from here on out.

Bar 55 -73 is the exposition of the second main fugue theme.

Bar 73 the main subject, 2nd main subject and 2nd main subjects countersubject has exposition together in the key of c minor.

This is the tematical developement and how the fugue is structured.

Impressive stuff. The only criticism I can possibly give concerns the tiny emphasis on sequential patterns. Your use of them is quite flawless, in my view, though one after the other and despite skilful transitions to other keys, there is little artistic substance in my opinion. In a way, I feel this is more of an advanced exercise in the art of counterpoint which you have executed very well...  

i appreciate that sequential patterns form the basis of much of this kind of music, though perhaps they are used most artistically when there is a greater variety of the type of sequences used. You might have heard of a contemporary composer called Sardelli, who is an expert on Vivaldi and very well respected. I am familiar with a number of double fugues from his works which no not extend beyond 3 minutes in general. He has the privilege to have his own musicians play his work and it truly is quite something special. 

43 minutes ago, Markus Boyd said:

Impressive stuff. The only criticism I can possibly give concerns the tiny emphasis on sequential patterns. Your use of them is quite flawless, in my view, though one after the other and despite skilful transitions to other keys, there is little artistic substance in my opinion. In a way, I feel this is more of an advanced exercise in the art of counterpoint which you have executed very well...  

i appreciate that sequential patterns form the basis of much of this kind of music, though perhaps they are used most artistically when there is a greater variety of the type of sequences used. You might have heard of a contemporary composer called Sardelli, who is an expert on Vivaldi and very well respected. I am familiar with a number of double fugues from his works which no not extend beyond 3 minutes in general. He has the privilege to have his own musicians play his work and it truly is quite something special. 

 

Thank you very much for taking the time to listening. Its true what you say, but the answer is the harmonic progression of the theme itself. In the mid baroque the fuges where based on the theme and the progression more then varaiety, like a chaconne or a passagalia. Its more of a varation work then a artistic meldoic piece, so there i agree. But this is written more for the techniqual side of composition more then innovative meldodic and artistic material.

Yes i know of Federico Sardelli, he is a great musican, composer and conductor. I love hes music and admire hes talent. We are both members of accademia Vox Saeculorum, a group of professional musicans, conductors, historians and schollars who are dedicated to the revial of baroque music.

On 1/26/2021 at 3:33 PM, Simen-N said:

dedicated to the revial of baroque music

and revive it you plainly have as far as the composition of new music is concerned and if interest in the older work ever starts to or already is waning - which I have no real reason to think is true, perhaps you could enlighten me, us on that - then hopefully composers of our age - and of your birth age - will aid greatly in preventing that. i suppose that Bach et al's music will be with us for a long time, as will yours. i do not know if you were explicitly trying to mimic the particular style of any particular old master or whether, instead, the similarity merely comes from using their basic compositional approach re: harmony, melody, obviously etc, etc - but i will tell you that my brother, who is fairly well acquainted with the work of JSB was this morning able to be convinced, upon hearing your ciaconna - presented in a separate thread for those here who might not have seen it yet- that he was listening to one of Bach's orchestral suites. Later he changed his mind and said he thought it a bit more evocative of Handel.

Bach, Handel, Simen-N...you guys could be triplets!

This is quite impressive, and sounds flawless at first hearing. Not so sure that oboes and bassoons are best suited for this score however. If I may be critical, I would say that along the way I get the impression to get caught in an endless (yet pleasing) harmonic sequence, and I really lose the sense of direction of the whole piece as well as its main and first subject (which is concerning, given that the piece is a fugue!). Perhaps would it be nice to make the piece shorter and to give it a stronger sense of contrast. The result is still very satisfying to listen to. Congrats.

Nice work. Just watch out for the parallel octaves at 2:45 (bar 45). If you're writing in the Baroque style, the rules of harmony are very important ( no parallel 5ths, parallel octaves, unresolved leading tones etc)

Wow, it sounds amazing. I don't see any weak points there, very interesting counterpoint. Bravo!!! 🙂