Page:Fugue by Ebenezer Prout.djvu/176

158 effect of the whole is! This is because of the want of continuity; the piece is chopped up by the full cadences into lengths of four bars each. A full cadence in a fugue (which should in all cases be sparingly used) must always be a point of departure for some new entry, if not of the subject, at all events for some important feature of counterpoint. We have referred to this above, but we repeat it as a point of vital importance in fugal writing, which will be enforced by the example just given.

331. We saw in the fugue in D (§ 308) the expediency of occasional rests in the voices (§ 319). After a rest, the voice which has been silent may enter on any part of the bar; but it should always end before a rest, on an accented beat.

332. One final point remains to be noticed. It has several times been incidentally said that a fugue is essentially a polyphonic composition. It is therefore of great importance that each voice should preserve its individuality. Passages for two parts in thirds or sixths, though not absolutely prohibited, should be sparingly used, and, in any case, not for long together. Passages in which a subject is accompanied by plain chords are also seldom advisable, though they are occasionally to be used, even with good effect, as in the following example—

The student will do well in his attempts at fugue to keep to the strictly contrapuntal style.

333. The student may now begin the composition of a complete fugue. To show him how to set to work, we shall write three fugues for him, one in two parts, one in three, and one in four. We will take the subject we wrote in § 254 to illustrate stretto, as this will give us the opportunity of introducing several stretti at different intervals and distances. The student had better begin by writing a few two-part fugues, as these are easier than those with three or four voices. He must remember not to introduce any progressions between the voices which would not be allowed in free two-part counterpoint. He should also always bear in mind the harmonic progressions indicated by the outline harmony.