Polyphony in Bach's Fugues for Lute

Tilman Hoppstock, who was recently awarded the title of Dr. phil. for this sensational doctoral thesis, offers a profound insight into the movement structure of Bachs fugues for lute on the basis of the present study. The Leipzig Cantors music is always distinguished through a maximum of correspondence between its individual voices and it is therefore no surprise that the fugal form enjoys top priority. Among Bachs works for lute, we also find five fugal movements (in BWV 995, 996, 997, 998 and 1000) which are examined in detail from the aspect of their polyphonic structure in the current volume. The author devotes particular attention to the fugue from BWV 997, but also reveals new findings relating to the other fugues. The idiomatics of the five movements play a vital role here, highlighted by comparisons with a variety of Bachs other works. An extensive chapter is devoted to a series of fugal movements for lute written by diverse composers between the Renaissance and the Late Baroque period. The book is enriched by over 350 musical examples (notated throughout in the original keys!) and 85 MIDI data providing a tonal illustration of a portion of the examples. • 350 music examples in print • 85 music examples as download (Zip)