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Quiz about Back to the Fugue
Quiz about Back to the Fugue

Back to the Fugue Trivia Quiz


How do you pronounce "fugue"? Say the word "few" and add a hard G (like at the end of "dog") to the end. Now that we've covered that, we can move on to questions like "What are some features of fugues?" and "What are some famous fugues"?

A multiple-choice quiz by celicadriver. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
celicadriver
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
340,610
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
1849
Awards
Editor's Choice
Last 3 plays: Froya (8/10), Guest 79 (5/10), patrickk (9/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. A fugue is a type of composition in which a number of different voices or parts play the same melody at different points in time. Which of these terms best describes fugal texture? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. The theme or main melodic idea of a fugue is called the subject. Fugue subjects typically undergo various transformation over the course of the piece. What is NOT a generally recognized term for a method of altering the subject? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Fugues are most closely associated with which of these instruments or ensembles? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Which of these musical forms or genres most closely resembles a fugue in its style? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Which of these movement types did the Baroque master J.S. Bach NOT use to introduce any of his fugues? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Which of these is the correct title of J.S. Bach's 1748-1749 fugal masterpiece? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Czech-American composer Jaromír Weinberger (1896-1967) introduced the fugue from his opera "Schwanda the Bagpiper" with what type of dance movement? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Ludwig van Beethoven originally scored his "Grosse Fuge" ("Great Fugue") in B-flat, Op. 133, for what instrument or ensemble? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. The word "fugue" has a nonmusical meaning as well. What is it? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Fugues written in minor keys sometimes arrive at a major chord in the final cadence. What is the technical term for this harmonic effect? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Oct 21 2024 : Froya: 8/10
Oct 07 2024 : Guest 79: 5/10
Sep 26 2024 : patrickk: 9/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. A fugue is a type of composition in which a number of different voices or parts play the same melody at different points in time. Which of these terms best describes fugal texture?

Answer: imitative counterpoint

Homophony, where all the voices change notes at the same time (as is typical in four-part church hymns), is the opposite of counterpoint. Counterpoint refers to independent melodic lines, and in the case of fugues, those melodic lines "imitate" or echo each other. Imitative counterpoint doesn't just appear in fugues; a major example is the many sacred choral works from the 16th century that rely on this texture.
2. The theme or main melodic idea of a fugue is called the subject. Fugue subjects typically undergo various transformation over the course of the piece. What is NOT a generally recognized term for a method of altering the subject?

Answer: redaction

Composers may vary the subject after its initial appearances in the fugue's first exposition by augmenting, diminishing, inverting, or retrograding it. If you would like detailed definitions of these processes, take a music theory class, or send me a note.

A crash course in fugue structure and terminology: the exposition section introduces the subject, one voice at a time. While each new voice plays the subject, the voice that preceded it may play either a countersubject (which may later be transformed as described above), or free counterpoint (melodic material that does not necessarily return or receive transformation). Whether the new voice enters with the subject ("answer") at the unison/octave or fifth determines whether the answer is tonal or real. Other terms to consider when analyzing fugues are stretto (an accelerated progression of overlapping subject entries) and episode (a contrasting section occurring between the sections that present the subject).
3. Fugues are most closely associated with which of these instruments or ensembles?

Answer: organ

The fugue originated in the Baroque era, and the organ and harpsichord were typical instruments of the period. Fifes and drums, banjos, and bass guitars may be unlikely candidates for fugal compositions, but fugues from more recent eras may be scored for chamber ensembles, orchestra, band, or voices.
4. Which of these musical forms or genres most closely resembles a fugue in its style?

Answer: ricercar

As with fugues, the primary emphasis in ricercars is on imitative counterpoint. The organ masses of Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643) include ricercars.

Suggested listening: Rinaldo Alessandrini's recording of Frescobaldi's "Fiori Musicali" on the orgue Antegnati de S. Maurizio, Milan (Astrée E 8714).
5. Which of these movement types did the Baroque master J.S. Bach NOT use to introduce any of his fugues?

Answer: overture

An overture (from the French, "opening") usually appears at the beginning of an opera or instrumental suite. Bach frequently opened his fugues for keyboard with preludes, but he composed passacaglias, fantasias, and toccatas for this purpose as well. Fantasias and toccatas, with their free, improvisational characters, are intended to contrast and complement the rigorous, highly structured nature of the fugue that follows.

A passacaglia is a set of melodic variations that unfolds over a repeating "ground bass"; a similar form is the chaconne. One of Bach's crowning works for the organ, in this author's opinion, is the "Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor" BWV 582, a massive, endlessly fascinating juggernaut that leaves the listener inspired, exalted, and exhausted.

Suggested listening: E. Power Biggs at the Flentrop Organ on Sony SBK 46551. Uwe Kraemer's excellent liner notes for this disc are enlightening.
6. Which of these is the correct title of J.S. Bach's 1748-1749 fugal masterpiece?

Answer: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of the Fugue)

Note the German spelling, "Fuge."

One of the last pieces Bach composed before his death, "Die Kunst der Fuge" is a collection of 14 fugues, all tied together by a single subject. He never completed the final contrapunctus (his term), which he had planned to be a quadruple fugue (that is, a fugue with four subjects), nor did he specify an instrument or ensemble to play these fugues.

Suggested listening: The Canadian Brass playing "The Art of the Fugue" on Sony SBK 89731.
7. Czech-American composer Jaromír Weinberger (1896-1967) introduced the fugue from his opera "Schwanda the Bagpiper" with what type of dance movement?

Answer: polka

Legions of young musicians have been required in school bands or orchestras to play Weinberger's "Polka and Fugue" from "Schwanda the Bagpiper."

As a side note on one of the incorrect answer choices, "The Loco-Motion" was a 1962 dance-craze hit for Little Eva, with Grand Funk Railroad releasing their own version in 1974.
8. Ludwig van Beethoven originally scored his "Grosse Fuge" ("Great Fugue") in B-flat, Op. 133, for what instrument or ensemble?

Answer: string quartet

Here again, note the German spelling, "Fuge."

Beethoven (1770-1827) wanted the "Grosse Fuge" to be the finale of his 13th string quartet, but had to concede to his publisher, and released it as a standalone piece. His Op. 134 was an arrangement of the fugue for piano four hands.

Suggested listening: The Kodály Quartet on Naxos 8.554593, "Beethoven: Complete String Quartets Vol. 8."
9. The word "fugue" has a nonmusical meaning as well. What is it?

Answer: an abnormal mental or behavioral state

The definition from "Merriam-Websters's 11th Collegiate Dictionary": "a disturbed state of consciousness in which the one affected seems to perform acts in full awareness but upon recovery cannot recollect the acts performed."

One may be tempted to relate this condition to the word "fog," as in "a mental fog" or "feeling foggy," but the etymology is more likely from Italian or Latin words meaning "flight."
10. Fugues written in minor keys sometimes arrive at a major chord in the final cadence. What is the technical term for this harmonic effect?

Answer: Picardy third

The plagal cadence (IV-I or V-I-IV-I) is another cadential effect that composers of fugues may choose to exploit.

Bonus fugue terminology: a pedal point is a sustained bass note played beneath extended melodic figuration, so called for the organ pedals on which it may be played. A sustained treble or top-voice note is called an inverted pedal, while internal pedals occur between the bass and treble voices.

Bonus listening suggestion: "Introduction and Fugue" from the "Suite in B-flat major" by Richard Strauss. Performed by Michael Collins and the London Winds on Hyperion CDD22015, "The Complete Music for Winds."
Source: Author celicadriver

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor kyleisalive before going online.
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