I so enjoyed making my Fugue in Three Voices that I decided to try one in four voices. I wanted to address an aesthetic that I did not achieve in the three voice fugue. With this one, I’m still not quite there. The challenge is to balance the desired aesthetic with a fugue structure. I’m not trying to be exactly true in its fugueness, but true enough to make it fugue-y. (Makes sense, right?)
Fugue in Four Voices (2025) 11” x 27” | 28cm x 69cm. Mosaic gold (Orsoni 002 006, 010, 014), charcoal cement
How This Fugue Works
For a little more detail about fugues, refer to my Fugue in Three Voices post.
This fugue is made up of nine 6 x 20 grids.
The voices are as follows:
1st voice - white gold (Orsoni 002 gold which appears white relative to the other shades)
2nd voice - pale yellow (Orsoni 006 gold)
3rd voice - gold (Orsoni 010 gold)
4th voice - light copper (Orsoni 014 gold)
The exposition is as follows:
Grid 1 - 1st voice introduces the subject
Grid 2 - 2nd voice enters with the subject; 1st voice is countersubject
Grid 3 - 3rd voice enters with the subject; 2nd voice is countersubject; 1st voice is free counterpoint
Grid 4 - 4th voice enters with the subject; 3rd voice is countersubject; 2nd and 1st voices are free counterpoint
The exposition is complete once the 4th voices enters. The remainder of the fugue is as follows:
Grid 5 and 6 - episodes in all four voices
Grid 7 - episode in first 3 voices
Grid 8 - episode in first 2 voices
Grid 9 - 1st voice ends the fugue with the original subject
After the first of the year, I want to try a fugue in five voices. I’m still trying for a better/different balance between the aesthetic and the fugue structure, and I am loving the challenge. There are fugues in seven voices but I’m going to stop at five; it gets really confusing working with multiple shifting voices. I’ve been working on the five-voice design in which my current plan is to use 13 grids, each 5 x 30. Regardless of whether or not I achieve the aesthetic for which I am striving, it will at least be very pretty: Orsoni gold is a treat to work with!