Firestarter

Listen to the work here!
 
Firestarter is a miniature fugue in 3 voices for solo piano, following the harmonic and gestural idioms of late-Baroque harmony and contrapuntal writing guidelines. This is, according to the strictest definition, the exposition of a 3-voice fugue: the second voice is introduced in the dominant key relative to the first, immediately after the first voice presents the basic idea; these two voices then briefly move in counterpoint to each other, and the third voice is introduced in a more extreme register, relative to the first two voices, and once again in the home key. As a miniature fugue (or isolated fugue exposition), these three voices then proceed in counterpoint to a conclusion in the home key, and a delightfully neo-Baroque Picardy third. The title of the work is a contemporary way of describing the fugue as a tool for formal organization: the basic expository idea presented in the first four bars acts as the material used to spread the fire of Baroque harmony and counterpoint, as it is traced through the individual voices. I have a particular love of avoiding generic titles for works whenever possible, so while this work might alternatively be called Miniature Fugue a 3 in C Minor for Piano, I wanted to give the title a contemporary twist. The rhythmic language of the expository idea also suggests a tango-like influence, a further contemporary twist on the fugue idea, and flame imagery is not uncommon in such dance idioms. This piece was originally written as a final project for a class in 18th Century Counterpoint at the University of North Texas, instructed by Dr. Diego Cubero.