What are the parts of a fugue?
Good question. By “parts”, I assume you mean either 1. The names of the individual parts. 2. The various sections and their characters I will answer both. First though, a Fugue can be written for as many “voices” (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass are the usual names, no matter what instrument is actually being played) as the composer wants. However, the number of voices typically stays the same throughout. In other words, while not every section uses every voice, it’s unlikely that you will see a voice ADDED once the music in underway. In general, the fugues of Bach are mainly written for 3, 4, or 5 voices. 1. The Names of the Individual Parts Fugues are more or less built up of one (sometimes two, called a “double fugue) main part, called the SUBJECT. The SUBJECT ideally lends itself toward all manner of polyphonic treatment or musical “gymnastics”. For the beginning listener, the SUBJECT is usually the only thing that sticks out enough to be heard – there are many “entries” of the SUBJECT
