Fugue in D Minor for Pipe Organ

This is a 3-voice baroque-style fugue. The fugue (from the Latin meaning to chase) as a musical form reached its zenith in the fugal works of Johann Sebastian Bach. The form consists of a short motif initially stated in either the tonic or dominant of the initial key (termed “Subject”) which is followed by an “answer” in the dominant or tonic key in which the subject is restated while a contrapuntal “answer” of the motive in one or more alternative voice (tonic or dominant) to the initial starting voice occurs (“Counter-subject”). The fugue may then repeat the Subject back in the tonic or dominant voice and if a four-part fugue the Subject is repeated in the alternate voice. The form undergoes development with the Subject and Counter-subject melodies. Repetition of the fugue motifs are punctuated by one or more Episodes and the fugue frequently ends in a “Stretto” (from the Italian meaning “narrow” or “tight”) in which the Subject occurs in one voice while being imitated in other voices before the original voice is finished.

The motive (Subject) of this fugue was based on an uncompleted Kyrie for a contemplated Mass in D minor. The Subject is written in D minor and the Countersubject enters in A minor the key of the second Subject entry. There are 3 episodes in the development sections with the fugue ending in a Stretto. The fugue is ended on a Picardy third (a characteristic of Baroque fugal style endings).

The piece was composed over the period 26 September 2010 through 20 December 2010. The piece received its first public performance with pianist Ken Hardin (Artistic Director of In Concert Sierra) at a live house concert held in Penn Valley, California, June 2016.