The Art of Fugue

The Art of Fugue is an unfinished contrapuntal work by Johann Sebastian Bach, comprising fugues and canons that develop a single musical subject.

Fugue: A contrapuntal composition in which a principal subject enters successively in multiple voices and is developed through imitation. The work is a sequence of fugues exploring different ways to transform and combine one subject.
Stretto: A fugal technique in which a new statement of the subject begins before the preceding statement has finished. Closely overlapping entries intensify the subject’s imitative texture.
Johann Sebastian Bach: A German composer and keyboardist of the Baroque era, renowned for sacred music and intricate counterpoint. He composed and assembled The Art of Fugue as a sustained study of contrapuntal possibilities.
Contrapunctus I: The opening fugue of The Art of Fugue, presenting the principal subject in a comparatively direct form. It establishes the subject before later pieces subject it to more complex treatment.
The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I: Bach’s 1722 collection of preludes and fugues in every major and minor key. Unlike this collection’s single-subject design, it pairs each fugue with a distinct prelude.
Counterpoint: The combination of independent melodic lines into a coherent musical texture. The work’s identity rests on the interaction of independently moving voices.
Augmentation (music): The presentation of a melody in note values longer than those of its original form. Slowed subject statements demonstrate how rhythmic expansion can preserve contrapuntal identity.
Late works of Johann Sebastian Bach: Compositions Bach produced during the final decade of his life, including major works of learned counterpoint. The Art of Fugue belongs to a late period of concentrated contrapuntal experimentation.
Contrapunctus IX: A double fugue in The Art of Fugue that combines the main subject with a lively second subject. It demonstrates how contrasting themes can be made to work together contrapuntally.
The Goldberg Variations: Bach’s keyboard variation cycle built on a bass line and harmonic plan rather than a single fugue subject. Its large-scale unity comes from variation, offering a different model of thematic continuity.

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