Two-Voice Polyphonies

In the works of the most polyphonically oriented composers, as in the Stile Antiqua period or with Johann Sebastian Bach, one can see an intuitive application of the natural human polyphonic perception limits.

Figure: Example of independent two-voice writing: J. S. Bach, Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Vol.1, Fugue N.10 BWV855

1#1

Bach, in his few two-voice fugues seems to literally unleash each of the two-parts but even in his three-voice polyphonic writings he often ``links'' two of the parts in an homophonic evolution.

Figure: Example of linked voices in a three-voice, fast tempo, instrumental fugue: J. S. Bach, Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Vol.1, Fugue N.21 BWV866

2#2

Similar textures also show frequently in instrument-unspecified fugues^1.1.