Fuge (Fugue)

In a respectful bow, this movement refers to two paragons (actually a paragon pair): J. S. Bach's Ricercar a 6 from the Musical Offering (BWV 1079) and Anton Webern's instrumentation / arrangement of this beautiful piece.

The theme / themes of my fugue are derived from twelve−tone motifs in movements 1 and 2 (and within the fugue from eachother). Bach's „Thema Regium” only plays a very marginal role, in that its 2^nd half (the chromatic descent) is deliberately quoted once and otherwise arises rather accidentally from the counterpoint.
Webern's method of motivic distribution of voices to different instruments has also been present in the former movements.

Like its related forms canon and ricercar the fugue is the musical model for a conversational situation, in which the participating voices „hear each other out” (J. S. Bach) and yet relate to each other thematically.

The dialectic of strict imitation and free variation gives this form a timeless validity, which, even in times when no king sets the theme, challenges us to meditate upon.


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