Definition
The counter-exposition is a second exposition, in the home key, that follows the first after a short episode. In its most classical form it contains two entries (or as many as there are voices) in reversed order: where there was subject-answer before, there is now answer-subject, and the voices exchange roles. Not all fugues contain one; it is typical of the school fugue and of many regular Baroque fugues.
Characteristics
- Key: the same as the exposition (tonic and dominant).
- Order: reversed. The voice that had the subject now has the answer and vice versa.
- Voices: often the voice that entered last in the exposition enters first.
- Countersubject: returns, often in an inverted position (above instead of below), which demonstrates the double counterpoint.
- Possible variations: subject in contrary motion, in stretto, or with a new countersubject.
Function
- Consolidate the subject before moving away from the key.
- Show the combinations: new positions of subject and countersubject.
- Extend the tonic area in a long fugue, before the entries in closely related keys.
Scheme in a three-voice fugue in C
| Section | High voice | Middle voice | Low voice | Key |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exposition | A (G) | S (C) | S (C) | C–G–C |
| Episode 1 | sequence | sequence | sequence | C |
| Counter-exposition | S (C) | countersubject | A (G) below | C–G |
| Episode 2 | modulates | toward A minor |
In the counter-exposition the high voice, which had the answer, takes the subject; the low voice, which had the subject, takes the answer, with the countersubject now in the middle voice.
Counter-exposition and middle entries
The term is used loosely. In the strict sense (school fugue) it indicates the second series of entries on the tonic, in reversed order. In a broader sense, some analysts call any second series of entries a counter-exposition, even with the subject inverted or in a closely related key, or the exposition of a new subject in a double fugue. In analysis it is best to specify the key and the order of the entries.
Examples in the repertoire
- Many fugues of The Well-Tempered Clavier present, after the exposition, a second group of entries on the tonic before modulating.
- In the Fugue in F# minor BWV 883 (second book) the section that begins at bar 51 with the subject in the alto is described as a counter-exposition, and is the point where the subject and two countersubjects are combined.
- In The Art of Fugue, Contrapunctus 1, the second series of entries instead keeps the same circular order of voices as the first: it is an example of a non-inverted second exposition.
Typical mistakes
- Repeating the exposition identically: it loses its point; it is better to invert voices and positions.
- Separating exposition and counter-exposition with a long, modulating episode: tonal unity is lost.
- Using the counter-exposition for a new key: it becomes a middle entry.
Modern application
- Film scores: in the return of a theme, swapping the sections (the cellos' theme passes to the violins, the countermelody drops to the cellos) is an orchestral counter-exposition: same key, new color.
- Pop: the second chorus with voices inverted (melody to the backing vocals, countermelody to the soloist) uses the same logic.
- Choirs: having the subject re-enter starting from the section that entered last keeps the attention of the singers and the audience alive.
Related topics
Exposition, countersubject, episodes, school fugue, formal plan of the fugue.