Analyzing Fugue: A Schenkerian Approach

How did Bach, Handel, and others go about improvising and composing masterful fugues, many of which remain popular and beloved to this day? What are the underlying principles that govern this most elevated musical art? This book explores the application of Heinrich Schenker’s groundbreaking theory of tonal music to the field of fugue, with special reference to J. S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. Building upon the conventional patterns of thoroughbass and counterpoint, it covers the tonal structure of subjects and answers, the tonal patterns of fugal expositions, sequences, strettos, and complete fugues. It develops a theory of subject and answer paradigms and voice-leading patterns that undergird and shape the great fugal works of the baroque era.