Page:Fugue by Ebenezer Prout.djvu/127

Chap. VIII.]

244. The word "" is the past participle of the Italian verb, "stringere,"—to draw close. It is occasionally used in music other than fugues as equivalent to the present participle of the same verb, "stringendo," in the sense of pressing on, or hurrying up the time; but when employed, as it mostly is, in connection with fugue, it is the name for that part of a fugue in which the entries of the subject or answer follow one another at a shorter distance of time than in the first exposition.

245. Most theorists name the stretto as a necessary part of every good fugue. Cherubini speaks of it as an "indispensable condition" and an "essential requisite"; and he adds that "a good fugal subject should always give scope for an easy and harmonious stretto." But this rule, like most others given in the old text-books, will not stand the test of applying it to Bach's practice. Out of the forty-eight fugues in the 'Wohltemperirtes Clavier,' more than half have no stretto at all; and of the remainder some have only a fragmentary, or partial one. If a stretto is really an essential part of a fugue, then it is evident that more than half Bach's fugues must be badly written. The simple truth is, that it is not Bach's workmanship, but the rule that requires to be altered. Any rules regarding fugue, which will not fit the works of the greatest fugue-writer that the world has ever seen, carry their own condemnation on their face.

246. Instead, therefore, of laying down a law that every good fugue must contain a stretto, we maintain that, though often a most valuable ingredient of fugue writing, it is never absolutely indispensable. In the 'Wohltemperirtes Clavier' some of the fugues which have no stretto (e.g., Nos. 2, 12, 21, and 40) are among the finest and most perfect works of art of the whole collection.

247. It is by no means every fugue subject that adapts itself easily and naturally to the purposes of stretto. A subject intended for this should be expressly designed for it in the first instance; otherwise there will most likely be a certain stiffness or harshness about some of the imitations. For example, in writing the fugue subject of which we gave expositions in