William Renwick

Analyzing Fugue: A Schenkerian Approach

The analytical techniques that Heinrich Schenker developed have become increasingly dominant in the analysis of tonal music, and have provided a rich and powerful means of understanding the complexities of great masterworks of the Western tradition. Schenkers method is based on two cardinal concepts - a hierarchy of tones grouped into structural levels, and a recognition of the importance of strict voice-leading at all structural levels. In Analyzing Fugue - A Schenkerian Approach, author William Renwick utilises Schenkerian techniques to explore the relationship between imitative counterpoint and voice-leading in fugue. He shows that the art of fugal composition as practiced by masters such as Bach and Handel involves a remarkable degree of systematic structural patterning that is not evident on the surface of the music.

Structural Patterns in Fugue Subjects and Fugal Expositions

Heinrich Schenkers analytical observations concerning fugue provide a springboard for a systematic theory of subject paradigms based on linear progressions and elaborations. The subject paradigms, in correlation with exposition schemes, yield recurring patterns of voice leading that govern the structure of fugue expositions. This content downloaded from 157.55.39.212 on Thu, 09 Jun 2016 06:33:35 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms