Theories of Fugue from the Age of Josquin to the Age of Bach

Description

Few bodies of Western music are as widely respected, studied, and emulated as the fugues of Johann Sebastian Bach. Despite the esteem which Bach's contributions brought to the genre, however, the origin and early history of the fugue remain poorly understood. Theories of Fugue from the Age of Josquin to the Age of Bach addresses both the history and methodology of the pre-Bach fugue (from roughly 1500 to 1700), and, of greatest significance to the literature, it seeks to present a way out of the methodological dilemma of uncertainty which has plagued previous scholarly attempts by considering what musicians of the time had to say about the fugue: what it was, what it was not, how important it was, and where and how a composer should (or shouldn't) use it. Contents List of Tables Acknowledgments Introduction Part I: Fugal Theory of the Renaissance and Early Baroque Chapter 1. Fugue in the High Renaissance Chapter 2. Fugue at the End of the Renaissance, Part I: Italy and the Netherlands Chapter 3. Fugue at the End of the Renaissance, Part II: Germany Chapter 4. German Theory during the Thirty Years War: Fugue in Latin School Music Texts Part II: The Genesis of the Modern Fugue: Italy and Germany in the Mid-Seventeenth Century Chapter 5. Italian Influence on German Fugal Theory, 1640–1680 Chapter 6. Instrumental Fugue and the Emergence of Fugal Structure in the Third Quarter of the Seventeenth Century Chapter 7. Invertible Counterpoint and the Hamburg Circle of Theorists Part III: German Fugal Theory of the Mature Baroque, 1680–1740 Chapter 8. Fugal Theory, 1680–1710 Chapter 9. Fugal Theory in German Lexicographic Texts Chapter 10. Fugal Theory, 1710–1740: Mattheson and Fux Conclusion Notes Glossary Bibliography Index