Reicha - 36 Fugues Title page (facsimile)

36 Fugues, sometimes assigned

opus number In musicology, the opus number is the "work number" that is assigned to a musical composition, or to a set of compositions, to indicate the chronological order of the composer's production. Opus numbers are used to distinguish among compositi ...

36, is a cycle of

fugue In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the co ...

s for

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

composed by

Anton Reicha Anton (Antonín, Antoine) Joseph Reicha (Rejcha) (26 February 1770 – 28 May 1836) was a Czech-born, Bavarian-educated, later naturalized French composer and music theorist. A contemporary and lifelong friend of Beethoven, he is now best reme ...

. It was first published by the composer in 1803 and served as an illustration of a ''nouveau système'' (Fr. "new system") Reicha invented for fugue composition. This system involved, among other things, extensive use of polyrhythms, derived from

traditional music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

, and fugal answers on any and all

scale degrees In music theory, the scale degree is the position of a particular note on a scale relative to the tonic, the first and main note of the scale from which each octave is assumed to begin. Degrees are useful for indicating the size of intervals a ...

, rather than just the dominant, which was standard at the time.

Historical background

Reicha most probably started composing the

s during his short stay in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

. In 1799 he moved to Paris and soon published a collection of twelve fugues there, all of which were subsequently included in ''36 Fugues'' (as numbers 1, 2, 4, 8, 20–23, 25–27 and 35).Stone, Grove By 1802 Reicha moved to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, but the same year two more works that would later be included in the collection were published in Paris. These were a ''fantaisie'' from ''Etude de transitions et 2 fantaisies'', Op. 31, and a fugue on a theme by

Domenico Scarlatti Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti, also known as Domingo or Doménico Scarlatti (26 October 1685-23 July 1757), was an Italian composer. He is classified primarily as a Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the devel ...

, Op. 32. The complete cycle was published in 1803 in Vienna under the French title ''Trente six fugues pour le pianoforte, composées d'après un nouveau système'' ("Thirty-six fugues for the piano, composed using a new system"). The collection was dedicated to

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

, whom Reicha knew since the early 1790s, and included a dedicatory

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meaning ...

by Reicha, in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

. The fugues were preceded by extensive textual notes, in which Reicha defended his methods, particularly polyrhythm, for which he cites numerous examples from

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

and western France around the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

. The second edition was published in Vienna in 1805 and included a short theoretical text, ''Über das neue Fugensystem'', in which Reicha explains the theoretical basis of the fugues in form of a polemic against the numerous opponents of his ideas. These included

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

, who dismissed Reicha's method for turning the fugue into something that is no longer a fugue ("daß die Fuge keine Fuge mehr ist"), and

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

.Vit Roubicek. Liner notes to "36 Fugues for piano, Op. 36 (selection)", Milan Langer (piano) Also mentioned in Reicha's text are the circumstances that led to the composition of some of the fugues with borrowed themes: apparently, his Parisian friends had chosen several themes and asked Reicha to compose fugues on them using the new method.

General information

In ''Über das neue Fugensystem'' Reicha outlines his idea of the fugue as a form. To him, the characteristics required were the following: * the theme must appear in all voices, voices entering one by one, * throughout the fugue the texture and character must remain properly

contrapuntal In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

, * all musical ideas should be derived from the subject alone. The standard rule of answering the subject at the dominant did not matter to Reicha, and he argues that any scale degree can be used (for example, the subject is answered at the

tritone In music theory, the tritone is defined as a musical interval composed of three adjacent whole tones (six semitones). For instance, the interval from F up to the B above it (in short, F–B) is a tritone as it can be decomposed into the three adj ...

in Fugue No. 20). He also dismisses limitations on the nature of the fugue's subjects, such as obligatory non-periodic structure (one of the subjects of Fugue No. 18 consists of a single note repeated) and a maximum span of a

ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

(the subject borrowed from

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

, in Fugue No. 7, has a span of more than two octaves). Finally, in some fugues of the cycle, Reicha experiments with the structure of the form by adding introductory sections (Fugue No. 27) or alternating between two different forms of texture (Fugue No. 14). Although most fugues employ a single subject, some are different: six fugues employ two subjects (nos. 4, 13, 18, 31, 32, 34), fugue number 30 has three and fugue number 15 has six. Of the 36 fugues, 6 use subjects from other composers. These are the following: * Fugue No. 3 in F minor uses the primary theme from the first movement of

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have le ...

's String Quartet No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 20, No. 5 * Fugue No. 5 in G major uses the subject of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

's G major fugue from Book II of the Well-Tempered Clavier, BWV 884/2 * Fugue No. 7 in D major uses the theme that starts Mozart's Haffner Symphony, K. 385 * Fugue No. 9 in G minor uses the subject of

's Cat's Fugue, Kk. 30/ L. 499 * Fugue No. 14, ''fuga-fantasia'', uses the subject of

Girolamo Frescobaldi Girolamo Alessandro Frescobaldi (; also Gerolamo, Girolimo, and Geronimo Alissandro; September 15831 March 1643) was an Italian composer and virtuoso keyboard player. Born in the Duchy of Ferrara, he was one of the most important composers of k ...

's '' Recercar Cromatic post il credo'' from the second

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different ele ...

Fiori musicali ''Fiori musicali'' ("''Musical Flowers''") is a collection of Liturgy, liturgical Pipe organ, organ music by Girolamo Frescobaldi, first published in 1635. It contains three organ masses and two secular capriccios. Generally acknowledged as one of ...

, ''Missa Degli Apostoli''. * Fugue No. 15 is built on six subjects, one of which is a theme from

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

Israel in Egypt ''Israel in Egypt'', HWV 54, is a biblical oratorio by the composer George Frideric Handel. Most scholars believe the libretto was prepared by Charles Jennens, who also compiled the biblical texts for Handel's '' Messiah''. It is composed ...

, namely the line "I will sing unto the Lord" from the first chorus of the second part, "Moses and the children of Israel ...

List of fugues

* Fugue No. 1, Allegro – uses fragmentation of the subject, then sequences it chromatically. * Fugue No. 2, Allegro * Fugue No. 3, Molto moderato (theme by Haydn) * Fugue No. 4, Allegro moderato – two subjects. * Fugue No. 5, Allegretto (theme by Bach) * Fugue No. 6, Allegro moderato * Fugue No. 7, Allegro (theme by Mozart) * Fugue No. 8, Allegretto, subtitled ''Cercle harmonique'' – modulates through all

keys Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (m ...

. * Fugue No. 9, Allegro moderato (theme by Scarlatti) * Fugue No. 10, – in 12/4 (Reicha recommends imagining this as 3/4 time, ''tempo di una battuta''.Notes in the Bärenreiter edition.) * Fugue No. 11, Allegro moderato * Fugue No. 12, Allegretto – in 2/8. * Fugue No. 13, Allegro moderato – two subjects. Composed using Reicha's "new harmonic system"; a modal fugue with cadences possible on every degree of the scale without further

alteration Alteration(s) may refer to: * Alteration (music), the use of a neighboring pitch in the chromatic scale in place of its diatonic neighbor. ** Alteration, in the mensural notation used by renaissance music, the lengthening of a breve, semibreve or ...

, except the seventh. * Fugue No. 14, Ferme et avec majesté—Presto, subtitled ''Fuga-fantasia'' (theme by Frescobaldi) – alternates between slow chordal passages and chromatically planned fast sections. * Fugue No. 15, Adagio – six subjects (one of them by Handel). Originally printed in both two- and six-stave form. * Fugue No. 16, Andante un poco allegretto * Fugue No. 17, Allegro * Fugue No. 18, Adagio – two subjects. * Fugue No. 19, Allegro * Fugue No. 20, Allegretto – in 5/8. * Fugue No. 21, Allegro * Fugue No. 22, Allegretto * Fugue No. 23, Allegro Reicha - Fugue No

* Fugue No. 24, Allegro moderato – 2/2 and 3/4 alternating. * Fugue No. 25, Allegro * Fugue No. 26, Allegro * Fugue No. 27, Allegro – features an introductory section. * Fugue No. 28, Allegro – 6/8 and 2/8 alternating. * Fugue No. 29, Allegro moderato * Fugue No. 30, Allegro moderato – three subjects. 4/2 + 3/4, used simultaneously (polyrhythm). * Fugue No. 31, Allegro moderato * Fugue No. 32, Poco lento * Fugue No. 33, Allegro * Fugue No. 34, Un poco presto – two subjects. * Fugue No. 35, Allegro * Fugue No. 36, Allegro moderato

Editions

* Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1973, catalogue numbers 19117–119. Edited by Václav Jan Sýkora.

Recordings

* ''36 Fugues Op. 36'' (1991–92). Tiny Wirtz (piano). 2 CDs, CPO 999 065-2
World premiere recording of the complete cycle. * ''36 Fugues for piano, Op. 36 (selection)'' (1996–7). Milan Langer (piano). 1 CD, BONTON Music 71 0459-2.
Includes fugues nos. 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11–13, 20, 22, 23–26, 28–33. * ''36 Fugues'' (2006).

Jaroslav Tůma Jaroslav Tůma (born 1956, in Prague, Czech Republic) is a Czech organist. This organist, clavichord, harpsichordist and pianoforte player graduated from the Prague Conservatory and from the Faculty of Music of the Academy of Performing Arts ...

(piano). 2 CDs, ARTA F101462,Essay
by

(ARTA Records)
Performed on a period instrument, fortepiano

Anton Walter Gabriel Anton Walter (5 February 1752 – 11 April 1826) was a builder of pianos. The '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' describes him as "the most famous Viennese piano maker of his time".Latcham (2009) Life Walter was born in Neuha ...

1790.

References and further reading

* Mellasenah Young Morris. "A Style Analysis of the Thirty-six Fugues for Piano, Opus 36, by Anton Reicha". D.M.A., Performance, Peabody Conservatory of Music, 1980. viii, 141 p. * Peter Eliot Stone. "Reicha, Antoine", ''

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and th ...

'', ed. L. Macy
grovemusic.com
(subscription access).

Notes

External links

Complete score of Op. 36 at www.free-scores.com
* A description of the cycle and some of the fugues from Allmusic.com {{Authority control Compositions by Anton Reicha Reicha Compositions for solo piano 1803 compositions