[Listening extract audio not available in printed QP] A keyboard piece begins with a single melodic line. A second voice enters with the same melody at a di...
Question 1 Report
[Listening extract audio not available in printed QP]
A keyboard piece begins with a single melodic line. A second voice enters with the same melody at a different pitch.
(a) What type of Baroque composition. [1]
(b) Give the term for the entry of the melody in the second voice. [1]
[Total: 2 marks]
Answer Details
(a) The correct answer is a fugue. [1]
A fugue is a Baroque contrapuntal composition built on a principal theme called the subject. It begins with a single voice stating the subject alone. A second voice then enters with the same melody, typically at a different pitch (usually the dominant), while the first voice continues with a counter-melody (countersubject). Additional voices may enter in the same manner. The fugue develops by weaving these independent melodic lines together using techniques such as inversion, augmentation, diminution, and stretto. J.S. Bach is widely regarded as the greatest master of fugal writing.
(b) The correct answer is the answer. [1]
In fugal terminology, when the second voice enters with the subject at a different pitch (typically a fifth higher or a fourth lower), this entry is called the answer. If the answer reproduces the subject exactly at the new pitch, it is a real answer. If some intervals are slightly adjusted to maintain the key relationship, it is a tonal answer. The answer is a defining element of fugal structure and establishes the polyphonic dialogue that drives the entire composition.
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