The article examines the tonal-harmonic features of Antonn Reicha's piano polyphonic cycle "36 Fugues for Piano" Op. 36. The subject of the study encompasses modal-harmonic structures, principles of tonal planning, chordal vocabulary, and thematic characteristics of the fugues within the context of the transitional era from Classicism to Romanticism. The author analyzes the specific tonal relationship between the subject and answer in the cycle, paying particular attention to the composer's departure from the tonic-dominant scheme. The harmonic language is marked by abrupt tonal shifts, the use of altered chords, and the expansion of the modal foundation of the subject and the fugue as a whole. The thematic material of many fugues is characterized by reliance on triads and sixth chords as tonal anchors. The use of homophonic-harmonic devices within a contrapuntal texture in the fugues of Op. 36 allows for the identification of a new quality of polyphonic writing that anticipates the Romantic treatment of the fugue. The methodological framework of the research is based on an integrated approach combining comparative-historical method and tonal-harmonic analysis, which enables the identification of innovative features in Reicha's compositional thinking that foreshadow the Romantic interpretation of the genre. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that, for the first time in musicology, the tonal-harmonic organization of Op. 36 is examined as a coherent system in which the rejection of classical tonic-dominant logic, the introduction of tertian and tritonic tonal juxtapositions, the enrichment of thematic material with dissonant harmonies, altered sonorities, and major-minor elements, along with an experimental approach to tonal notation, mark the formation of a new type of polyphonic thinking. The conclusions substantiate that Reicha's piano cycle represents an important stage in the development of the free polyphonic fugue. This composition vividly manifests a tendency toward individual authorial compositional concepts based on coloristic tonal development and the freedom of modal writing. The present study contributes to the investigation of the evolution of the free-style fugue, expanding the established musicological understanding of the genesis of Romantic polyphony.
Hongye LV (Fri,) studied this question.