discussion.]
[Footnote 33: Notable names are Léonin and Pérotin, both or-
ganists of Nôtre Dame at Paris.]
[Footnote 34: Although this is not the place to set forth all the
details of this development, in the interest of historical justice
we should not think of Bach without gratefully acknowledging
the remarkable work of such pioneers as the Dutchman, Sweel-
inck (1562-1621), organist at Amsterdam; the Italian, Fres-
cobaldi (1583-1644), organist at Rome, and—greatest of all,
in his stimulating influence upon Bach—the Dane, Buxtehude
(1636-1707), organist at Lübeck. Sweelinck and Frescobaldi may
fairly be called the founders of the genuine Fugue, and there is
a romantic warmth in Buxtehude’s best work which makes it
thoroughly modern in sentiment.]
[Footnote 35: In connection with the statement that music has
developed according to natural law, it is worth noting that the
four-part chorus early became the standard for both vocal and
instrumental groups for the simple reason that there exist two
kinds of women’s voices—soprano and alto, and two of men’s
voices—tenor and bass. Originally, the chief voice in the eccle-
siastical chorus was the tenor (teneo), because the tenorssus-
tainedthe melody. Below them were the basses (bassus, low);
above the tenors came the altos (altus, high) and still higher the
sopranos (sopra, above).]
In the latter example it is evident that there is an interweaving
ofthreedistinct melodic lines.
The polyphonic instrumental works of Bach and his contempo-
raries were called by such names as Preludes, Fugues, Canons,
Inventions, Toccatas and Fantasies; but since a complete ac-
count of all these forms would lead too far afield, we shall confine
ourselves to a description of the Canon, the Invention and the
Fugue. A Canon (from the Greek [Greek: Kanôn], meaning a
strict rule or law) is a composition in which there is aliteralsys-
tematic imitation, carried out to the end, between two or more
of the voices (often with subsidiary voices filling in), and may
be considered a kind of musical dialogue in which the second,
or answering, part reënforces the message previously uttered by
the leading voice. This imitation may take place at any degree
of separation; and Canons are in existence at the interval of
the second, third, fourth, fifth,etc. The most effective Canons,