Fuge

Fugue. A compositional procedure — not a fixed form — in which a subject (Thema) is introduced alone, then imitated at pitch and in other voices, with episodes of free development between subject entries. Central to Hindemith's mature style: the three 1936 piano sonatas each culminate in fugal finales, and Ludus Tonalis is a systematic catalogue of fugal types (double fugue, mirror fugue, canonic fugue, stretto fugue, inversion fugue, and others).

In Hindemith's fugues, voice independence is paramount — each line must be heard as a distinct musical personality. Practice hands separately and by voice, not by hand. The climax of a fugue usually arrives through stretto (subject entries overlapping) or double fugue (two subjects combined); plan the dynamic architecture from the outset, not measure by measure.