"Mars" - fugue for piano (4 minutes) - Analysis & Critique

Replies

HS Teoh December 20, 2023 at 11:21pm

Hooray, another Gregorio fugue! Been listening to this in a loop, but still need more time to get into it. The structure is not so easy to grasp, I need some dedicated time to get into it before I comment. But so far, it seems to have a lot of interesting things going on...
- gregrorio j > HS Teoh December 21, 2023 at 12:51pm
  
  Thank you HS! I appreciate so much your wanting to replay it, get to know it better. One thing that might help seeing the structure is the rhythm of the subject - which stays relatively intact - with some mild elongation and contraction..
Mike Hewer December 21, 2023 at 3:06am

Really great Greg. I didn't listen to it as a fugue, rather it just washed over me like the view of a strange landscape might. In effect I was transported.
- gregrorio j > Mike Hewer December 21, 2023 at 12:53pm
  
  Hi Mike. I almost didn't put 'fugue' as part of the title - just because of the reason you described - 'just let it wash over, it being a fugue is somewhat incidental. Im so glad it worked for you!
  - HS Teoh > gregrorio j December 21, 2023 at 1:29pm
    
    Yeah, I also didn't perceive it as a fugue, at least not in the traditional sense, but a standalone work (and a very nice one!) that just happens to be constructed as a fugue.
    
    I have this theory that the word "fugue" scares certain people off (and draws certain people, like yours truly, haha). I did a little experiment about this back on the old forum: I posted my fugue in E only under its subtitle "Exuberance", without mentioning the word "fugue", and waited to see how long before somebody realized what it was. It seemed, to me anyway, that people were more receptive to it, and it wasn't until much later that somebody tentatively asked, "might this qualify as a fugue?". :-D I was quite happy about that, because it meant that the music could stand on its own, regardless of whether it was constructed as a fugue, which is IMO a very important part of composition -- the music should not need to bank on being labelled as a fugue (or any other form) before the listener can accept it, it should be able to stand on its own as a piece of music and make sense musically regardless of how it was constructed.
    - John Driscoll > HS Teoh December 28, 2023 at 12:43pm
      
      Me either. And it feels like a novel idea to use fugual structure to write music that doesn't "sound" like a fugue. I can't think of another piece/movement that does that specifically. Reminds me a bit of the 20th century takes on the passacaglia. Nice work, Greg!
      - gregrorio j > John Driscoll December 28, 2023 at 2:18pm
        
        Hi John. As I keep writing these fugues, the structure seems less and less obvious. This is #15 . There will be one more in the collection. 8 are more retro, and 8 -'modern'. Trying to think of a title for the collection. All I have so far is 'Janus' . Any suggestions would be helpful in that regard. (HS?)
        
        Thanks so much, John.
        
        John Driscoll > gregrorio j December 28, 2023 at 5:54pm
        
        My vote is for "Tempus fugit"!
        
        HS Teoh > John Driscoll December 28, 2023 at 6:14pm
        
        That is pure genius, I second it! 😅
        
        gregrorio j > John Driscoll December 28, 2023 at 11:11pm
        
        Ah! Yes this is a great title! Thank you!