1. fugue - Noun
2. fugue - Verb
A polyphonic composition, developed from a given theme or themes, according to strict contrapuntal rules. The theme is first given out by one voice or part, and then, while that pursues its way, it is repeated by another at the interval of a fifth or fourth, and so on, until all the parts have answered one by one, continuing their several melodies and interweaving them in one complex progressive whole, in which the theme is often lost and reappears.
Source: Webster's dictionaryThe worst constructed play is a Bach fugue when compared to life. Helen Hayes
The most uninteresting part of the biography of a composer is his childhood. All those preludes are the same and the reader hurries on to the fugue. Dmitri Shostakovich
A great piece of music is beautiful regardless of how it is performed. Any prelude or fugue of Bach can be played at any tempo, with or without rhythmic nuances, and it will still be great music. That's how music should be written, so that no-one, no matter how philistine, can ruin it. Dmitri Shostakovich
There is nothing like a Bach fugue to remove me from a discordant moment... only Bach hold up fresh and strong after repeated playing. I can always return to Bach when the other records weary me. Edward Weston
The blues are like the fugue in 18th century. It's probably the music that belongs most to our time. Michael Tippett
If I had to vote for what is the greatest piece of music ever conceived by the human mind, I'd have a hard time choosing between the Chaconne that ends Bach's second partita for unaccompanied violin or the his Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue for the piano. Harry Markowitz