The word “fugue” lives a dual life. The lesser-known second definition provided by Merriam Webster is “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.” I discovered this quite by accident in the process of researching a possible title for my work.
My intent was for this composition to be a celebration of renewable energy resources, a consistent interest of mine. I had selected “Re-New” as a title. Unfortunately, that title was already sort-of taken, hence a pivot to “Re-Fugue,” which combined that interest with my desire to leverage “prelude and fugue” as a form for the work. (More about that below.) Wanting to avoid the same mistake, I searched ‘Re-Fugue” as a title, and the “…disturbed state…” definition was the first hit to emerge. The irony of that definition in the context of our seeming collective delusion over climate change, and the renewable resources available to us to address it, was decidedly not lost on me.
Form
I’ve used no specific musical devices to represent the science of renewable energy here, just a general feel for the ideas, and an inspiration for the work itself. (One could call the “prelude” a representation of the renewable resources, and the “fugue” as the way in which they’re used — but that’s really a stretch.) The historical traditions behind “prelude and fugue” are also used pretty loosely, though there are aspects of it that I followed.
The prelude was written as a series of broad splotches of color carried by the brass, initially with French horns. The fugue theme is an extension of the prelude’s motific content. It starts out quite traditionally, as fugues go — a theme (the “subject” in fugue parlance) is repeated (“answered”) in different keys. A countersubject appears during the first answer.
After 6 repeats of the fugal theme (2 “subjects” and 4 “answers”) carried by various instrumental groupings and keys, the subject is slightly modified, then truncated, providing the accompaniment for a second theme (also an extension of the prelude). This provides the basis for a development section. The remainder of the composition provides another fugal grouping, and closes with a return of the feel and instrumentation of the prelude. Interestingly, I wrote the fugue first, then the prelude, incorporating the latter into the former, hence assuring that the thematic cohesiveness of the entire work would be reflected in the prelude.
Ensemble
I’m using two each of flutes (piccolo included), oboes, clarinets, bassoons, trumpets, and trombones. I’ve added a bass trombone as well. There are four French horns, two percussionists plus a timpanist, and full strings. (This is very close to the ensemble I used for “September.”) As always, I’ve attempted to include a few new “faces” – besides the bass trombone, I’ve added a vibraphone to the percussion list. I write, I learn!
As of this writing (October 28, 2026), I’m about halfway done. Below is an excerpt — it ends prematurely, and will be subject to change as I work.
