Music: An Art and a Language

the same may be said of every type of composition,i.e., among
them all are examples inspired and—less inspired. This, how-
ever, is no indictment of the fugueper se, against which the
only thing to be said is that it requires on the part of the lis-
tener an exceeding concentration. Some of the masterpieces of
the world being wholly or partially in the fugal form, it is the
duty of those listening to polyphonic music to train their powers
to the same seriousness of attention expected and freely given
in the appreciation of an oration, a drama or a cathedral. These
latter manifestations of artistic expression, to be sure, are less
abstract than the fugue and more closely related to daily life.
Yet no effort is more repaying than the mental and emotional en-
ergy expended in listening to the interweavings of a good fugue;
for, conscious of missing the periodic divisions of the Folk-song,
we have to listen to more than one melody at a time. A fugue
being a composition, as the French say, of “longue haleine,” our
attention, in order to follow its structure, must be on the “qui
vive” every moment. The fugue, in fact, is an example of the in-
tricate and yet organic complexity found in all the higher forms
of life itself; and whenever a composer has wished to dwell with
emphasis on a particular theme, he almost invariably resorts to
some form of fugal treatment, strict or free. The most effec-
tive media for rendering fugues are the chorus of mixed voices,
the organ (by reason of its pedal key-board always making the
subject in the bass stand out majestically) and the stringed or-
chestra which, with the “bite” of the strings, brings out—with
peculiar sharpness—the different entrances of the subject. The
student should become familiar with standard examples in each
of these classes and should, above all, seek opportunity to hear
some of the organ fugues of Bach performed on a really fine in-
strument. A few well-known fugues are herewith cited in order
to stimulate the student to some investigation of his own. In all
the Oratorios of Handel and in the choral works of Bach, such
as the B minor Mass, may be found magnificent fugues—as free
and vital in their rhythmic swing as the ocean itself. Particular
attention should be called to the fugue in the Messiah “And by
His stripes we were healed [Transcriber’s Note: And with His
stripes we are healed].” One of the most impressive fugues in
modern literature is the à capella chorusUrbs Syon Unicafrom
H.W. Parker’sHora Novissima. From among the organ works of
Bach everyone should know the Fugues in G minor, in A minor,
in D major[38] and the Toccata and Fugue in D minor. These