Analyzing Fugue; A Schenkerian Approach

How did Bach, Handel, and others go about improvising and composing masterful fugues, many of which remain popular and beloved to this day? What are the underlying principles that govern this most elevated musical art? This book explores the application of Heinrich Schenker’s groundbreaking theory of tonal music to the field of fugue, with special reference to J. S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. Building upon the conventional patterns of thoroughbass and counterpoint, it covers the tonal structure of subjects and answers, the tonal patterns of fugal expositions, sequences, strettos, and complete fugues. It develops a theory of subject and answer paradigms and voice-leading patterns that undergird and shape the great fugal works of the baroque era.

William Renwick is Professor Emeritus of Music Theory at McMaster University. He was educated at the University of British Columbia and CUNY. As an organist he is an Associate of the American Guild of Organists and a Fellow of the Royal Canadian College of Organists. He was made a Fellow of the Royal School of Church Music for his scholarly contributions to the field of Gregorian Chant.