Important facts regarding the Fugue (II): stretti

There are many issues to discuss (nicely) about the Fugue.
But I'm going to raise a very direct one this time:

How can we make sure that with the subject we design at the beginning of the Fugue we will be able to elaborate a stretti?

The stretti or stretto (estrechar in English, estrechar in Spanish) is not an obligatory part of the fugue, but a frequent one. It even appears in other types of musical forms.
It consists of exposing the material "compressed" in time so that the "head" of the subject is exposed in two to four voices successively and overlapping.

Probably, sometimes, this can happen by chance. But there is a way to make sure .....

Any ideas?

 

There are actually two kinds of stretti:

a) the real or canonic stretto where the subject goes on in full while the answer is sounding;

b) and the false stretto where the subject is continued in free counterpoint right after the entry of the answer.

You can compose a false stretto with any subject you create. As for a canonic stretto you first have to create a subject which is suitable to be worked out as an actual canon with very close entrances.

2 hours ago, Luis Hernández said:

How can we make sure that with the subject we design at the beginning of the Fugue we will be able to elaborate a stretti?

I think every subject are stretto-able but it only varies with the time of simultanety of the overlapped subjects, or whether you can have stretti more than 2 voices, for example in the fugue of C# minor in WTCI or D major in WTCII.

If it's of any help, I've just made a tutorial on how to design subjects for tonal fugues that allow canonic stretti.

3 hours ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

I think every subject are stretto-able but it only varies with the time of simultanety of the overlapped subjects, or whether you can have stretti more than 2 voices, for example in the fugue of C# minor in WTCI or D major in WTCII.

 

I don't think so.

If you take the subjects of Bach, or any other classical composer, stretti will surely come out.

But write one or two random subjects and try to assemble stretti....

1 hour ago, Fermata said:

If it's of any help, I've just made a tutorial on how to design subjects for tonal fugues that allow canonic stretti.

 

PDF

• Tutorial_

This is very, very interesting and I am writing it down to study it.
I have another approach that, in the end, is also based on what you say....

I will post it here tomorrow.

Regards.

5 hours ago, Luis Hernández said:

But write one or two random subjects and try to assemble stretti....

No I really think you can definitely add stretti to any random subjects if the rules of counterpoints are not infringed. It's just whether the stretto is needed in the music or not and to decide whether to use it. As Fermata says there can be a type of stretto with the tails change to a free counterpoint, it can be easier to be made.

OK, I believe that with any subject, as I said before, you can find a solution to make a stretto, but sometimes, if you have not thought it through, it is difficult or limited to the first notes, or you can only make two superimpositions.
Which is not bad either.
I have read  @Fermata 's method and it is very good, although I put here something simpler and useful for any subject.

The idea is very simple: write, first of all, a subject that is canonical. Normally to the octave, but you can combine intervals.
That is to say: we write a canon.

Here I leave an example of how to build the canon to achieve three superimpositions (even if not at fixed times), to get the subject.

On 7/20/2023 at 12:58 PM, Luis Hernández said:

OK, I believe that with any subject, as I said before, you can find a solution to make a stretto, but sometimes, if you have not thought it through, it is difficult or limited to the first notes, or you can only make two superimpositions.
Which is not bad either.
I have read  @Fermata 's method and it is very good, although I put here something simpler and useful for any subject.

The idea is very simple: write, first of all, a subject that is canonical. Normally to the octave, but you can combine intervals.
That is to say: we write a canon.

Here I leave an example of how to build the canon to achieve three superimpositions (even if not at fixed times), to get the subject.

 

For Stretti is there a certain time interval before the stretto that is generally used? Or is it all dependent on the subject? Also, im liking this example, you should expand on it!

@Guardian25

Hi, I don't understand your question very well: For Stretti is there a certain time interval before the stretto that is generally used? Or is it all dependent on the subject? 

Do you mean the time interval from when the first subject starts until the second subject starts and etc?
If so, I think there is no fixed time interval. It can be very early, but also after two bars. What it has to be is that the subject overlaps BEFORE the first one ends.

I made this little fugue to use that subject and make the stretti. I'm sure it has intervallic errors etc., but the truth is, although I try to observe them, in the end I let myself go by ear, and if it doesn't sound bad to me... I'll take it for good.

Hey Luis,

For sure that final stretto in three parts is great and accurate. Maybe you add some modern touch here to have the line flowing in a more oblique eay as well.

Maybe the answer should enter in F# minor instead of major?

Henry

4 hours ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

Hey Luis,

For sure that final stretto in three parts is great and accurate. Maybe you add some modern touch here to have the line flowing in a more oblique eay as well.

Maybe the answer should enter in F# minor instead of major?

Henry

 

Hi.
You're right that subject is very flat. But the intention was to do something with that subject that is self-canonical and, truth be told, I didn't look for anything beyond that. I'm always on time, as I'm now making leaks.

About the answer in F# minor (instead of major) I think there are two aspects to take into account:

1. that it is a matter of taste. Bach himself (he is the paradigm of the fugue to study although there are more composers!) in the fugue in C minor and the fugue in G minor referred to in the other thread starts the answer keeping the minor sonority and progressing to the dominant V major. For this chord is necessary at the end to return to the original key.

2. If we search in treatises we find the following. This image is from a very old treatise (André Gedalge) but it says that in minor keys the answer has the VI and VII degrees ascending in all cases, or when the scale is ascending (always). The image takes Cm as the base key.

Therefore this answer can probably start with F#m sonority but it has to pass to major to return to Bm.

I found this video on the topic, I hope this could help in some way for you!