Williams' Fugues

[RomanticStrings 10]

What is Williams best and/or most developed fugue? What is the best fugue that anyone has wriiten, for that matter?

~Conor

[Adam 1]

The concert version of Preparing the Cage is very impressive and well-devolped. That?s probably

my favorite. Black Sunday has a good one that I?d like to hear developed more.

JW seems to almost always uses these in pre-confrontation scenes. For instance, Home Alone has

a fugue-like theme on top of the other themes in Setting the Trap. In this case and Black Sunday

and Jaws, he seems to have found a technique that works remarkably well, though I can?t totally

put my finger on why - something about how the fugues generate a sense of nervous anticipation,

but that?s not really describing it fully.

As for other composers, I don't know enough.

- Adam

[RomanticStrings 10]

Thank you, Adam. Regarding the Home Alone fugue, does that remind anyone of Mannheim Steamroller? It seems as though Williams knew what that was when he composed the score. Please, thugh, continue to comment on the fugues I requested. Thanks.

~Conor

[Marian Schedenig 8,182]

As for in-film fugues, I'm also very fond of those in CE3K, Jaws 2 (these two are closely related). As for other film composers, Goldsmith comes to my mind, particularly The Blue Max and Total Recall.

The greatest fugue? Probably something by Bach...he could improvise more complex fugues than most composers could write with lots of time, or so I've read. And of course, Bruckner has lots of fugues in his choral works and symphonies, all of them great.

Marian - who will soon sing in his first fugue, in Mozart's Requiem.

Ever After (George Fenton)

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

You are gonna sing?

[King Mark 3,626]

Here are more Williams fugues I like:

There's one in the Battle of Hoth at 7:40.

In The Shuttle from Spacecamp,that's classic Williams

There's also one in Quidditch Third Year from PoA.

K.M.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

my first thought at this thread title was that is said Williams Fungus', and I really thought that was going to be a gross topic.

[King Mark 3,626]

Nah,I'm putting my bet on the "Nocturnal Activities" thread to degenerate.

K.M.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

For clarification, isn't a fugue a piece where the theme is repeated over and over, and passed around the orchestra?

Ray Barnsbury - not sure

[Adam 1]

I think its something about having the same motif developed as point and counterpoint with their own individual character but built around the same motif, but I'm sure there's a better way of explaining in than that. So from that standpoint, KMs choices wouldn't work but they kind of fit in spirit. Close Encounters also has the fugue-like motif, as Marian said, but I'm not remembering off hand if it has that counterpoint that plays off of it. I think in general, no, though there may be an instance. Jaws 2 is a good example that I forgot about. Brief but JW definitely has the counterpoint with that one.

There's also an NBC fugue that has that kind of thing going for it.

- Adam

[Elmo Lewis 6]

I can't help but keep a soft spot for "Quidditch Third Year" from Prisoner of Azkaban.

[fommes 153]

A fugue can be very complex; if I remember correctly, the principle is that a motif is established by instrument A; while A plays a new motif, motif 1 is played by instrument B; while A plays motif 3 and B plays motif 2, instrument C kicks in to play 1; etc.:

A: 1 - 2 - 3

B: ----1 - 2

C: --------1

...

My favorite is the 'Shark Cage Fugue' - and I like the one on the Spielberg/Williams Collaboration very much.

[Marian Schedenig 8,182]

Also, as far as I know, the second instrument group must start a fifth higher than the first one. Otherwise, I think it would just be a canon.

I'm sure the wikipedia can provide more details.

Marian - fugue fan.

[ChrisAfonso 186]

There's also the great "Priam's Fugue" on Yared's "Troy" (about midway through the track "The Sacking of Troy" on the CD).

[Saxbabe 28]

I just love "Quidditch Third Year," so much going on there, on each listen I hear new things.

My favorite Williams fugue is "The Shark Cage Fugue" (on the Spielberg/Williams Collaboration). It's very much a typical fugue in its structure, and the way it builds and builds to the last few HUGE chords are outstanding!

One of my favorite Williams cues period.

Greta

[Marian Schedenig 8,182]

Hear, hear!

Marian -

[Morlock 11]

Black Sunday ain't too shabby either.

[Falstaft 2,132]

I took a counterpoint class last year, and learned to appreciate William's contrapuntal skills a great deal more. It was heavily composition-oriented class, so I also learned how to write fugues, inventions, etc. In the spirit of this thread (and boredom), I've created a little fugual exposition on a familiar theme or two. It's hardly my best work (half an hour spent on this as opposed to a month for that class), but hopefully its good for a laugh.

http://www.geocities.com/bogfrank/ItsATrapFugue.mid

[John Crichton 4]

Quidditch Third Year from PoA is a superb action cue, the best in the score, that has lots of great things going for it. But I'll say again that it isn't nearly as good as the wonderful, thematically-loaded The Quidditch Match from SS/PS. That is the best marathon Williams action cue in years upon years.

[RomanticStrings 10]

Falstaft, that was a wonderful fugue! I did recognize at least one of the themes. I'm not sure of any of the others. It is always fun for me to hear a good fugue, especially a new one because of the complicated nature of them. Bach could turn them out, but hearing a technique as old as that from a new composer is exciting. Keep up the good work, Falstaft.

[SeekUYoda 0]

I certainly enjoy all the above fugues, but I see that you have all failed to mention the greatest fugue ever written:

Bach's G#/Ab minor (depending on the edition) fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier. As my theory teacher once said, at the sight of this fugue, composers throughout history have thrown down their pencils and given up - no one will EVER fugue the way Bach could. The fugue in question is the most brilliant because he states the subject, then the countersubject, then the subject again - and it goes along for about 2 bars before he makes changes! It's hard enough to find a subject that will fugue (not all melodies will, because it has to sound good with itself when played a fifth higher and a bit later), but to fugue TWICE with itself is unheard of, except for Bach. Genius.