What method to approach Fugue?
Not to be rude, but I have to make some corrections to the first answer given. He gives the impression that things like dynamic markings and articulation are left out accidentally, or because the composers were lazy, and that they should be added at your discretion; well, it is sort of your perogative on how much to add, but there is much less freedom of choice than he seems to think. The reason such markings are not given in baroque music is that the composer implies them through the music itself, something any good performer of the composer’s time or of our time can recognize. In a fugue, these things are extremely important; you must be careful to hit on every small detail and recognize how it all fits together. I assume you know what the theme of the fugue is. That first statement is the most important one, because that’s where you establish how you want to shape it as a phrase and articulate it. Write in your music over the first statement exactly what dynamic contrasts and articu
