Hey guys.
As I was working on this, I vowed that this would be my last fugue (done about a dozen), as I rebelled "I will not be confined by such things!"
But, again I find that this fractal idea does afford more freedom than one might expect.
Thank you form listening!
Update: I have added a section and replaced the end of the previous version.
For those that have a mind to compare the two versions, Id be curious which one you think works best.
Thank you!
New version with coda:
https://soundcloud.com/progstudiespiano/fugue-labyrinth-coda-f4
Older version:
Replies
Holy smokes Gregorio. I'm still looking around on the floor to see if I can figure out where my jaw fell. That was a seriously virtuosic display. It started off sounding like an edgy, modernistic take on fugal form, and then quickly seemed to evolve into something else entirely. I feel like talent like this should be on a Deutsche Grammophon release, seriously! Superb, bravo!
Hi Frank!
It is very generous of you to offer such a response! Thank you so much!
I appreciate your characterization of how the piece developed.
Im glad you liked it!
This is awesome!! Very modern, yet completely fugal. Was waiting a long time for more fugues from you; I was not disappointed. This was totally worth the wait! :-P Immediately added it to my playlist of your fugues. Reminds me of your other fugue, Chimera; the subject has a similar shape with those wide intervals, and has a similar trailing bit. Loved the part around 1:45 where you suddenly break out in pure virtuosity, that was breathtaking. And then the calm passage that follows, and the beautiful ending. A real tour de force.
Agree that fugue seems like a tight straitjacket when you first approach it... but once you familiarize yourself with the ropes, it actually does offer lots of freedom. As someone once said, fugue isn't so much a form, as a particular kind of contrapuntal texture. Just like any musical texture, it can be employed to all kinds of uses. Only your imagination's the limit.
(And btw, I have 11 of your fugues in my playlist... will you complete the set with a 12th? ;-) haha just kidding. You're the composer, you call the shots. But here's to hoping there would be if but one final fugue to top off your awesome set.)
"Was waiting a long time for more fugues from you; I was not disappointed."
Wow, that means a lot! And, to have them selected in your playlist - I am most grateful for your enthusiasm for them.
(You proabably know them almost as much as I do!)
Yes, I'll probably do another one... Thank you for asking.
One thing for sure though is that once one immerses in this type of approach, it is never far away from the non-fugue pieces.
Awfully kind of you HS!
of all the many fugal-like structures which have been posted here of late, this seems to me to be the one where the music most takes off and at times flies into another dimension -- and yet seems fully under control. I can't think of a better way to describe it. Well worth several listens!
Hi David. Thanks so much for listening and offering your thoughts!
Yes, when writing a fugue, I try to be always mindful that the machinations of motif manipulation must have the end result of creating 'music' - and not just making the puzzle pieces fit. Hopefully, it is a piece of music - first, which then happens to be a fugue.
I agree with this. Form should be subject to the music, not the other way round. Which I try to do in my own work, to varying degrees of success.
Reminds of Tchaikovsky being self-critical about why his music seems to violate forms of the time... but in spite of that, his music continues to captivate. That means a lot more than some academic exercise that's form-perfect but musically sterile.
'Coda' -
Hey guys - Just to mention, the reason I posted this in "suggestions wanted open to revision" is because another type of ending was lurking. Currently it ends quietly with stating the theme once (while the lower voice is the theme inverted) - which I think works, but the other idea I had was making that last bit a big stretto/canon with flourishes, but decided not to because of overstaying my welcome with this theme, and should just let it quietly end.
I think I am mostly settled on this question, but am curious if others have ideas on this.
Do you have a version with the alternate ending posted somewhere? That would help with the comparison.
No, I don't have a finished version of the alternate ending. I have some sketches, but was unconvinced and didn't pursue it further.. perhaps I didn't try hard enough. I was just curious if that idea though had crossed a listeners mind as well..
(Maybe I'll try burrowing back in ..)
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