Kobayashi, Sumio : Fugue - homage to Maurice Ravel
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Genre:Various works
Copyright:Under Copyright Protection
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Author : Kobayashi, Sumio
Last Updated: May 14, 2019
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Author : Kobayashi, Sumio
This piece is composed in imitation of Ravel's fugues, particularly their structure. Its highly geometric structure serves as the foundation of the piece, balancing the work. While Ravel's fugues are constructed in a well-proportioned manner upon a stable foundation, in this piece, ambiguously blurred lines shape the music. The crossing of voices, the multiplicity of parts, rhythmic instability, and heterophonic writing blur the lines, and indeed the work itself.
As long as it takes the form of a fugue, especially in the case of a solo keyboard piece, an overly complex fugue would likely sound merely like a chaotic succession of notes. In this piece, in addition to a stable form, Ravelian harmony plays a crucial role in imparting order to this unstable collection of sounds. The rule of tonality gives shape to lines that might otherwise dissipate, yet this harmonic language does not overly constrain the piece.
Even with the aforementioned considerations, depending on the balance, the piece could become either extremely abstruse or remarkably clear; however, a balance is struck between comprehension and incomprehension.