What is the main theme of fugue?

the subject
fugue, in music, a compositional procedure characterized by the systematic imitation of a principal theme (called the subject) in simultaneously sounding melodic lines (counterpoint). The term fugue may also be used to describe a work or part of a work.

What is the main texture of fugue?

It begins with a single voice or instrument stating the theme (the ” fugue subject”) of the piece. The fugue subject comes in alone by itself in monophonic texture but the remaining parts of the fugue is in intense polyphonic texture.

How do you write a fugue theme?

How To Write A Fugue

  1. The exposition begins the fugue and a single voice plays the subject establishing the tonic key.
  2. The middle section consists of entries of subject and answer in keys other than the tonic separated by episodes.
  3. The final section begins where the subject or answer returns in the tonic key.

What are the 4 parts of fugue?

Key Terms

  • Exposition – the opening section of the fugue, ends when the theme is presented in each voice.
  • Countersubject – new material in the voice in which the subject was previously stated.
  • Episodes – transitions based on the exposition material.
  • Development – subject and answer being developed.

What is the initial presentation of a fugue theme called?

In the initial section of a fugue, called the exposition, this subject is presented in turn in each of the voices, with the first voice starting by itself, much the way a round is sung—this is the telltale sign of a fugue.

What is a real answer in a fugue?

The fugue subject is the primary melodic idea and is stated by each voice in turn in the first exposition. The answer , called “response” in some texts, refers to the statement of subject in the key of the dominant by the second voice to enter in a fugue.