Some music

[rookworm3]

Here is a piece I wrote for a class a couple of years ago. I was wondering what people think about it (it is a fugue in the strict style for anyone who is interested).

Cheers!

http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/fugue.zip

[Nikolas]

Well, you follow the generall form of the fugue, but it is rather small.

I like it. You do use counterpoint correctly, but stictly speaking there are things missing from the fugue itself.

You have to excuse my lack of vocabulary from here on.

I assume that the subject is given. Did you write the countersubject? It is good, solid and provides enough variation with the mordent. If I were you I would have a "bridge" bar between the entrance of the third and the fourth voice, but this is a personal preference.

On the matter of size. You spent one page and 1 bar with the exposition and the rest of the fugue is another page and a system. Proportionally this is kinda wrong. After the exposition you use the subject another two-three times. The two of them are in the VI and the last one goes back to the Tonal. The parts between the appearance of the subjects are again a bit small, and a little uninspired. When you use the subject, normally you are confined to the subject and the tonalities that this gives you. When you don't have the subject you should be able to go everywhere you want. You could have gone to the IV the V (D) just for the matter of picillarity (sp).

And, although Bach himself didn't use it all the time, this subject would work very well in a stretto even a stretto maistralli.

Generally it is a good piece. You follow all the rules. The only bad thing is that it is small and thus not very well developed.

And since I'm critisizing all this time, I have to tell you what I would do. First of all I would have the subject to other tonalities, at least the IV and the V. I would have a third and bigger "incident", before the end and after that I would have a stretto (for 6-8 bars, since your subject is 2 bars). I would add in the end a little bigger coda with some pedal in the Dominant or Tonal. And a suspension in the end is always nice .

About the recording. I don't know what you used so I can't say a lot. But I have a feeling that you didn't mess with the velocities at all. And it would be unplayed by any live player, because of the breaths. Of course they could steal, but for example the bass has 9 bars without a single rest.

Please excuse my rumbling so much. I really liked it, and you provided me with the hapiness to write something simmilar. Furthermor I got to play the professor for a little while.

Very nice. And since it is written two years ago I imagine that you must be much better now. Composing wise, cause in fugue it doesn't get much better than this.

And thanks for putting the score in the zip file. That was a clever idea.

Hoep I helped a little.

Cheers...

[rookworm3]

Thanks for your comments, just to answer some of your points:
-the subject and countersubject were both my own invention (although afterwards, I realized it is similar to WTC II in A-flat...)
-I cannnot be held responsible for the form, as the professor made us follow an outline he gave us, and was very strict in marking deviations (so much for creativity...)
-the subject is given in V at measure 15

Anyway, thanks for your crits. I think you are definitely right about the proportions. I am working on my next fugue (which is goint to be WAY better). Will post it when it's done.

[Gregjazz]

Oh please post that next fugue when you're done!

I like the sounds of this one you posted. It's inspiring me to write some more fugues/inventions.

The included sheet music is nice. I need to work on my tenor clef sightreading.

[EldKatt]

I fervently agree with Geoffkhan! This is the sort of thing that might keep EldKatt from just lurking (and hardly even lurking).

After Nikolas's comments, I currently have little to add, except that I like it. Although it doesn't go as far as it could (as Nikolas says), it's evident that you have a very firm grip on counterpoint and form. Well done!

For my closing statement, please read the first paragraph again, because it's the most important thing I have to say. Read it twice.