Fugue and improvisation: on the problem of the dialogue between academic and jazz traditions

Chuvilkin Vsevolod Stanislavovich PhD in Art History Senior lecturer; Department of Music Theory and Composition; Rostov State Conservatory named after S. V. Rachmaninov Lecturer-art critic (musicologist); Rostov State Philharmonic 16 Oborona str., Rostov-on-Don, Rostov region, 344082, Russia chuvilkin_vsevolod@mail.ru

At first glance, the spontaneity of improvisation and the strict structurality of the fugue are perceived as absolute opposites. It would seem that the highest of all polyphonic forms, the fugue, which requires rational calculation, should exclude any element of chance. However, an appeal to the history of the fugue shows that this opposition is by no means absolute.

If the practice of improvising fugues existed earlier in academic music, then in the twentieth century, with the advent of jazz, this tradition received an unexpected continuation and reinterpretation. How does jazz improvisation based on other rhythmic and harmonic principles interact with a strict polyphonic form? How can the spontaneity of jazz and the structurality of the Baroque model be combined? These issues have not yet received systematic coverage in the musicological literature, which determines the relevance of this article.

The practice of improvising fugues has deep roots in the European tradition. Even in the Baroque era, when an organist was required to be able to improvise a prelude at certain points in a church service, the fugue, contrary to popular belief, was also not thought of as an exclusively "written" form. As M. Serebrennikov convincingly shows based on the study of German sources of the XVIII century, the ability to improvise a fugue on a proposed topic was a mandatory skill for a professional musician of that time ^{[7, p. 5-6]}. It is worth considering that the practice of improvisation is based not on "pure" spontaneity, but on the use of pre-prepared blocks, as M. Saponov explicitly writes: "An improviser does not create matter, but composes it from ready-made blocks" ^{[6, p. 57]}.

N. Simakova, the author of one of the recent textbooks on polyphony, notes that in terms of fixing the musical text, fugues can be "... with missing musical text, that is, improvisable" ^{[8, p. 155]}. The intermediate link between fixed and unfixed samples is occupied by the fugue-partimento, a type of fugue with a digital bass"... which was written in a partial, abbreviated, or rather encrypted form, focusing only on the topic and its further developments" [ibid., p. 275].

Most of the improvised Baroque fugues were general bass fugues in which the polyphonic fabric was recorded as a digital bass, leaving room for improvisational realization of voices ^{[7, p. 8]}. Structurally, such fugues were strophic compositions in which each stanza included a group of theme passages, sequential development in interludes and cadence. The latter were not very diverse and represented universal formulas.

This structural principle reveals a deep affinity with jazz practice. In jazz improvisation, the digital bass is replaced by its historical successor, the harmonic grid. Jazz stylistic idioms are used as "blanks", which, according to O. Kovalenko's work, represent "... melodic-rhythmic, harmonic and textured cells of a jazz improviser..." ^{[2, p. 67]}. However, jazz not only reproduces, but also transforms the Baroque principle. Certain features of jazz improvisation penetrate not only into the components of the fugue, but also in some cases transform the form of the whole.

Jazz improvisation and fugue.

The relationship between improvisation and fugue in the twentieth century acquired new qualities in connection with the emergence of jazz. By the early 20s, as I. writes. Presnyakova, the first samples of jazzing the classics appear ^{[5, p. 78]}. By now, a significant amount of jazz transcriptions of classical fugues has been accumulated (J. S. Bach's fugues are particularly popular with jazzmen). Examples include jazzing versions of the first volume of J. S. Bach's "Well-Tempered Clavier" recorded by J. Lewis or C. Corea. By their structure, such interpretations approach the principles of jazz standard performance: presentation of the theme – a series of improvisations – the return of the theme. A fragment of a fugue (mainly from its exposition) can serve as the theme of a jazz standard here.

However, jazzing versions, for all their popularity, represent an area of performance interpretation. We are interested in another phenomenon – the jazz fugue. In this work, it is understood as a modern author's composition, the thematic material of which is based on the use of certain jazz idioms (swing, blues-lad, drive, etc.) while preserving the fundamental structural principles of fugue. In such works, jazz idioms are embedded in the very fabric of the composition, rather than incorporated into the finished text.

On the impact of improvisation on the jazz fugue.

There are some parallels between the fugue as a form^[1] and the tradition of jazz music making. The idea of the fugue is the development, proof through refutation and further affirmation of an initially given thesis^[2]. A jazz theme for improvisation may be in a similar context. We are talking about those cases when jazz improvisation unfolds as a new melody, born of a variant development of the core: there is a given thesis, from which various variants grow in the future. In other cases, improvisation has the appearance of a figurative line, which the authors provide with a characteristic background accompaniment. The sound of such a texture in a jazz context will be perceived, if not as a manifestation of improvisationism, then at least quasi-improvisationism^[3] – a composer's imitation of spontaneity.

Let's consider the impact of jazz improvisationism on different components. In the practice of jazz performance, movement in uniform durations in a low register is used as a counterbalance to a syncopated melody, a striking example of which is the contrabass walking bass. It is this rhythmic contrast that has made this technique a very common solution for counter-combinations in jazz fugues.

The walking bass is a technique that still bears the imprint of improvisation, since in most recordings it reveals an element of spontaneity: the performer can freely choose between three principles of movement: diatonic, chromatic or chord tones.

Another way to introduce improvisational principles into counter–constructions is the comping technique (comping, short for "accompaniment"). In jazz art, this technique refers to chords, rhythms, and countermelodies that support a solo melody. In the practice of arrangement and accompaniment, comping is often not fixed, but improvised by performers based on a given chord sequence of a harmonic grid. In jazz fugues, this technique is manifested by introducing quasi-improvised chord sequences into the texture.

The introduction of quasi-homophonic chord sequences is not new for fugue, if we recall the works of 19th–century composers, such as the piano fugues of F. Mendelssohn, F. Liszt, and others. Nevertheless, jazz specifics (primarily its harmonic and rhythmic aspects) make their own adjustments. This inevitably creates rhythmic polyphony between a quasi-improvised line (often a theme) and chords accompanied by it.

A vivid example of the introduction of comping into the texture of a jazz fugue is a fragment from E. Markovich's "Jazz Fugue in F Major". Here, a syncopated, quasi-improvisational chord sequence is used as a counter-compound to the theme.

Example No. 1 by E. Markovich. Jazz fugue in F major

The theme of the fugue

Stretch chain (tt. 52-58)

In this example, there is another typical jazz technique – a sequence of dissonant chords descending in semitones.

Improvisation instead of an interlude.

The interlude sections of the fugue turned out to be the most suitable for the inclusion of jazz improvisation in its purest form. This is explained by the lack of strict regulations "... regarding both the place ... of appearance, and intonation material, structure and size" ^{[3, p. 67]}. This, in turn, makes the interludes the most free areas, which does not exclude the element of spontaneity. It was probably this feature of the interludes that became a prerequisite for the organic synthesis of jazz idiomatics with the logical laws of fugue, up to the introduction of jazz improvisation into fugue.

There are two main types of improvisational interludes: written out and unwritten.

The first type is compositional improvisations, prescribed by the composers and occupying the space between the passages of the theme. Usually, such sections reveal a clearly defined solo melody of a figurative nature, which is contrasted with a less developed, often quasi-chordal background.

Example No. 2 M. Nordahl Jazz fugue II

Another example is the final interlude from N. Kapustin's C–sharp minor fugue (from the cycle "24 Preludes and Fugues"). Here, the texture approaches improvisation on a continuously repeated blues riff.

It is likely to assume that such interludes are born as a result of free improvisation, and only then are recorded by the composer in the musical text.

The second type is the interlude fragments of a jazz fugue composition that the author has not written, giving the performer complete freedom. In most cases, this refers to "unscripted fugues" from jazz practice. As an exception, a harmonic grid may be fixed in the sheet music edition. Consider B. Evans' composition "Fudgesicle built for four".

Example No. 3 by B. Evans. «Fudgesicle built for four»

Topic

Intermedia-improvisation

This example is a pure fusion of a fugue structure and a jazz standard. The four-voice exposition with two held counter-compounds is strictly structured. However, instead of a developing section, an irregular number of solo improvisations is assumed for a given harmonic grid. Here, like a jazzing fugue, it is the exposition that acts as the standard that completes the performance. All of these properties make the fugue form mobile and with an unlimited number of possible structural variants of execution, and therefore the content (depending on the composition and stylistic preferences of the performers).

Another striking example is the fugues of J. R.R. Tolkien. Lewis, written especially for the ensemble "Modern Jazz Quartet". Fugues such as "Vendome" or "Versailles" contain completely improvisational sections. The form of the whole is thus constructed like a concert rondo, where the function of the refrain is performed by fugated refrains, and the role of episodes is played by unwritten interludes-improvisations.

In modern practice, it is not uncommon to perform a jazz fugue created by another author, with the inclusion of his own improvisation, although the composer did not mean this. For example, A. Templeton's "Bach goes to town" (the first jazz fugue written for a big band) does not contain improvisational sections in the musical text. However, in the recording by the Hosey Osterwold ensemble, the trumpeter's improvisation sounds before the final section. Such interpretations already have something in common with jazzing fugue.

Another specific feature of the interludes in the jazz fugue stems from the orientation of the authors to specific jazz styles. In O. Gorchakov's "Bi-bop Fugue", the first interlude, as we believe, is an imitation of the instrumental composition of the combo in its most typical version: piano, double bass and solo instrument (most often saxophone). The accompaniment is presented here in the form of "stingy" piano comping in the spirit of "random" accented harmonies combined with a low-register walking bass.

Example No. 4 O. Gorchakov "Bi-bop fugue"

The second interlude of this piece contains an extended quasi-improvisational melodic line, significantly chromatized and outlined by the eighth.

Example 5 O. Gorchakov "Bi-bop fugue"

It is worth recalling that many be-bop improvisations were similar extended rows of eighths at a fast pace. In addition, the field of chords in be-bop also shows a clear tendency towards increasing dissonance due to sharp "additions" to the tones of melody and chords. Thus, interludes not only have an improvisational function, but also reveal the stylistic component of the entire composition.

It can be argued that jazz improvisation naturally transforms the interlude, shifting the focus to textural principles unusual for academic fugue: for example, the presence of a solo line of a figurative nature with a syncopated chord accompaniment.

Due to the possibility of integrating jazz improvisation, the compositional significance of the interlude in such fugues increases markedly, which fully corresponds to jazz practice. It is in improvisations that the author's personality of a jazzman is most revealed: for example, O. Peterson and T. Monk's performances of the same standard – "Round midnight" – are completely different. And such cases are the stylistic norm of jazz art.

So, the collision of the traditional fugue structure with the improvisational art of jazz could not but affect the shape of the whole. The authors of the jazz fugues probably realized the risk of excessive canonicity, almost mathematical precision of all the elements and aspects of the musical construction, which would be extremely contrary to the very nature of jazz art. Therefore, relying on the existing traditions of polyphony and jazz, the authors found a way to introduce the fundamental property of jazz – improvisation – to different levels and sides of the fugue.

As a result, new unusual compositional forms have emerged, suggesting that the exposition section should be treated as a jazz standard, that is, as a topic for further improvisations. However, further improvisations are not predetermined by the material of the exposition. Thus, a new principle of organizing the form of the whole appears, although rarely found: the jazz standard fugue, in which contrapuntal sections (primarily the theme) alternate with improvisational interludes.

We propose to define the samples written based on traditional models as jazz fugues res facta. In fact, it is a special stylistic form of fugue res facta. Tinctoris introduced the concept of res facta, which is important for understanding the essence of a musical composition. "a made, manufactured thing"), that is, "... a polyphonic composition recorded before being performed; the same is the counterpoint in the recording (contrapunctus scripto), the canthus is composite" ^{[4, p. 648]}. Res facta is naturally opposed to the practice of cantus supra librum (lit. "singing over a book"), when "the singer improvises a counterpoint to a given tenor" [ibid., p. 647].

Summarizing, it can be argued that the interaction of improvisation and fugue in jazz music is not paradoxical, but, on the contrary, has deep historical roots. The practice of improvising fugues in the Baroque era was based on the model of the general bass fugue with a characteristic combination of ready-made formulas. The jazz practice of the twentieth century transforms this baroque principle. Now the features of improvisation are deeply integrated into the theme, counter-composition, interlude, and also affect the overall shape of the whole. Thus, jazz practice revives the art of improvised fugue, albeit in an updated non-academic style.

^[1] In this article, we rely on the definition of V. Fraenov, set out in the Great Musical Encyclopedia: "Fugue is a form of polyphonic music based on an imitative presentation of an individualized theme with further passages in different voices, with imitative and (or) contrapuntal processing, as well as (usually) tonal–harmonic development and completion" ^{[9, p. 975]}.

^[2]The idea that V. Dolzhansky outlined in the article "Concerning the fugue" ^{[1, p. 153]}.

^[3]In this study, "quasi-improvisationality" is understood as a property of musical material that brings it closer in outline to examples of jazz improvisation.

The article is published in the version approved by the reviewers (after receiving a positive review recommending the manuscript for publication) with corrections made by the author (after receiving the editor’s comments, if any).
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