A fugue is a polyphonic composition for a number of instrumental voices.

So, a piece of

music that involves several layers of melody playing at once. Fugues are usually based around a

fugal subject, which is a theme repeated throughout the piece. The initials S, A, T and B stand

for Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass. For a fugue, each of these represents a voice of music at a

different key.

Glenn Gould was a Canadian pianist who is known for making Bach popular again in the

50’s. He did so by playing music that Bach meant for the harpsichord on the piano. I did find a

video of him playing Bach in the 50’s. He makes a lot of noises and moves around a lot, and

plays super fast.

Stretto is when the voices are following each other very quickly, almost like they are

stacked up on top of one another. A cadence is a variation found within one of the voices.

The Well-Tempered Clavier is a collection of 24 preludes and 25 fugues written by Bach

in the 1720s. The name describes the instruments and tuning used. Well-Tempered described

how the instruments were tuned. Clavier referred to a range of keyboard instruments that were

used. Bach probably used the harpsichord mainly, but the term could also encompass some early

versions of the piano.

Pianos make noise by striking strings with a hammer, whereas a harpsichord plucks the

strings. An organ is a woodwind instrument, so it uses pressurized air to make noise. I imagine

they are best for fugues because they are very versatile in the sense that the player can select

from a wide range of notes at ease. Multiple voices can be played at once on a keyboard.
Kerman, Joseph. “Baroque Instrumental Music.” Listen, edited by Gary Tomlinson, 9th ed., New

York, London, W. W. Norton and Company, 2019, pp. 124–29.