A Course of Instruction on Canon and Fugue (Classic Reprint)

Book excerpt: Excerpt from A Course of Instruction on Canon and Fugue Those who desire to profit by this book, ought to have thoroughly mastered all the studies in Harmony, simple and double Counterpoint, and the practice in exercises of more than four parts. A student, thus well prepared, will be enabled to follow this course of teaching of the Canon and Fugue, arranged in progressive order; and commencing with the easiest forms of imitation, to compose more elaborate compositions in the form of the Fugue. Although the composers of the present day make use of this contrapuntal form comparatively seldom, we find its employment mostly in compositions for Organ, or in the choruses of Oratorios and Psalms; nevertheless, the study of the Fugue is indispensible to every true artist, especially to him who desires to devote himself to the cultivation of free composition. Also to non-composers, the study of Canon and Fugue will afford insight into the classical works of Bach, Handel and other important masters of the past. One need scarcely remark that the creations of art exist for every one, endowed with feeling; and that also the unpretending amateur will receive a deep and lasting impression, after hearing the Cantatas and Passion-music of Bach, Handel's Oratorios, or other contrapuntal master-pieces, without being able to understand all the ingenious combinations of them. This we are far from disputing, but on the other hand, we must admit, that the appreciation and understanding of a master-piece will very materially heighten the enjoyment of it, and that also the executive artist will be better qualified to interpret a work, the more he has learned to grasp the very innermost nature of it. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.