What to Listen For

Bach: Contrapunctus 1, from The Art of Fugue

Heres what to listen for in the four-part fugue Contrapunctus I, from the Art of Fugue, by J. S. Bach.

Four-voice imitative texture played on a keyboard

A fugue is a composition in which a single theme is used to create a large portion of the piece. The
theme appears in different layers of the texture. In this recording, youll hear the theme in the low,
low-middle, high-middle, and high ranges of a keyboard instrument, creating four different layers of
the texture. When you listen to the beginning of this fugue, you will hear the theme in the high-
middle range first, like this: [0:00 0:10]. Then the theme is played in a higher range: [0:10 0:15].
The third time you hear it, the theme is in the low range of the keyboard: [0:19 0:25]. And, finally,
the fourth time you hear the theme, its in the low-middle range, which is a bit more difficult
to hear [0:28 0:37].

Subject and answer

When the theme is played the first time in a fugue, its called the subject. In this fugue, the subject
sounds like this: [0:00 0:10]. The second time the theme is played in any fugue, it is called an
answer. It goes by a different name because it begins on a pitch that is different from the first state-
ment. Listen to the answer: [0:10 0:15].

Exposition, middle, and closing sections separated by episodes

All fugues have a similar structure. They begin with the exposition, the first section in which the
subject or answer are heard in all layers of the texture. Listen closely to the exposition [0:00 0:37].
The middle and closing sections feature statements of the subject and/or answer. Here is the
middle section: [0:521:20]. And the closing section begins like this: [2:102:18].

There are also sections of a fugue called episodes in which neither the subject nor the answer is
played. Here are examples of episodes: [0:38 0:51]; and this: [1:211:29]; and here: [1:401:51];
and, finally, this episode: [2:192:25].

So remember to listen for the opening subject followed by other statements of it in imitative
polyphony. You will also hear episodessections with contrasting music in which neither the
subject nor the answer is played.

What to Listen For Tutorials by Jennifer Hund for The Enjoyment of Music, by Kristine Forney, Andrew DellAntonio, and
Joseph Machlis

n Copyright 2015 by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

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