How does Johann Sebastian Bach vary his approach to fugal composition in his organ works? : A study of fourteen strategically selected organ fugues.

Abstract

The thesis commences with an introduction examining the external influences and the work ethic of J.S. Bach. The first aim, albeit subsidiary to the subsequent aim, is to magnify and raise the issues concerning the lacuna of fugal analytical methodology and the underwhelming quality of analytical literature on the J.S. Bach organ works. As such, the misconception of fugal terminology, the lax analytical interpretations and the lack of cogent and compelling analytical accounts are all addressed.
The second aim which is integral to each analytical account of the fourteen fugues is to elucidate the contrapuntal paradigms and matrices contained therein. As of yet, attempts have not been made to provide rational schematic tables which illustrate the subject and countersubject(s) entries. Indeed, it is then of profound importance to examine each of these fourteen fugues and distil precisely the compositional procedures and mechanisms they possess. The fourteen fugues have not been selected without reasoning; they have also been selected to reveal a likely chronology. Fundamentally, they each reveal a vast spectrum of compositional traits, origins and hallmarks that are unique to each. The overarching purpose is thus to provide an enlightened comprehension as to the compositional procedures that define the essence of each fugue.
Despite the fervour for J.S. Bach as a composer of outstanding calibre and how highly regarded the organ works are held, it is surprising that for in excess of two hundred and fifty years, the compositional procedures and structural designs of his organ works have yet to be fully understood. Whilst this thesis does not aim to provide an in - depth analytical account of each bar within each fugue, it nonetheless seeks to provide a cohesive account for the fourteen fugues and above all to reinforce that fugue is a radically varying compositional style.