Grabbing the Fugue by the Trumpets

Fugue

The name itself brings to mind an entity both complex and approachable.  There is its ambient sound–the instruments as being heard altogether–and the individual sounds that lay buried within it.  It’s like a Christmas present wrapped in infinite wrapping paper.  You can never open it.  Only find joy in revealing another wonderful aspect of its existence.

Just as I would critically analyze a poem or literary text, so must I analyze a fugue in much the same way.  As with a poem, I may talk about its tone, diction, rhyme scheme, imagery or symbolism.  At surface level, the poem speaks of one meaning; but beneath its waters lies a reality of  numerous meanings.  I could ask the same questions of a fugue: What is it’s tone, diction (or in this case, it’s rhythm), rhyme scheme ( cadences), imagery and symbolism?

A nice specimen to critique is the fugue that is the third movement of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F Major.  Immediately, I hear that its tone is exuberantly expressive.  Of course, performance varies–but I tend to like my fugues fast and deliberate, thank you (with a lot of bounciness on the side, too!).  The tone overall puts me in a cheerful mood.

The diction is sharp, critical even.  The rhythm is urgent and persistent.  The cadences are completed by single instruments , the instruments in pairs, or all the instruments altogether.  Imagery and symbolism is always mentally (and morally) different for everyone.  After having heard this fugue over the years, I mentally associate it with the colors blue and yellow.  Why?  I don’t know, really.  But whenever I go to search for it on YouTube, or hum its main theme, I see those colors.  What do they symbolize? For me?  Nothing really–they’re just colors, right?  But here is some interesting symbolism I gleaned from the web about the colors blue and yellow (which I may apply inadvertently to my own interpretations):  COLORS

Enough critical thought.  Here is the concerto in its entirety.  Critique it for yourself.

P.S.: The title of this post only makes sense if you listen through to the third movement!

February 1, 2012 | Categories: baroque, Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »