Fugues are way too fun to learn. All the different melody lines, and yet they are unified in saying the same thing; but they all elaborate in different ways at the same time and yet harmonise together. They are independent and yet mesh together as a whole.


I have no qualms about the one hour I just spent practising one page of that Handel fugue I played(badly) for my grade 8. Fugues are so much more than playing the notes. Just like in the orchestra, you must be aware of what is going on in every individual part at any time, and you must maintain the balance of power between these, letting each voice surface at the right time. Of the four voices, one will sing out, one will keep the rhythmic drive, one will serve as harmonic support for the melody, all with different functions; and the fascinating thing about this is that these functions are constantly changing, being taken over by a different voice, with the part of greatest prominence being tossed around like a ball, and each and every one of them must be accounted for for the piece to be complete. It is not homophonic music where one paints a picture and subjects all the instruments to that picture; each voice, each section, has its own character and purpose, each telling a different side of the same story, which is the main theme itself.


Playing a 4-part piano fugue is a challenge because it requires you to PLAY all four voices at the same time and coordinate them like a conductor, deciding which is to shine and which is to reinforce and support. Imagine playing 2 violins, a viola, and a cello, and conducting the entire quartet all at the same time.


This would be a good time to take a second look at the Shostakovich fugues I failed to appreciate the last time. I viewed them as a whole; now I will try to break them down and hear their individual parts...and perhaps I will find something much more engaging than any other fugue I have known.