Fugue in e minor (three voices); Kenneth Michael Shultz, Composer (click for full size)
James Wiznerowicz, D.M.A., is undoubtedly Richmond’s most sublime and transcendent composer. He has studied under the distinguished contemporary composers Anthony Iannaccone (understudy to Aaron Copland), Ladislav Kiubik and Daniel Asia (understudy to Arthur Weisberg). Wiznerowicz’s “Aria for Solo Bassoon” and “Micrologus for Solo Flute” were featured on NPR’s “Theme and Variations,” and his music is performed throughout Australia, Europe and North America.
For me, the most important fact about this man is that he is a masterfully powerful teacher. I was lucky enough to study composition under Dr. Wiznerowicz; every moment was engaging and enlightening. The strange black and white picture above is a copy of a Baroque-style fugue that I composed under his pedagogy.
The theme is the heart of the fugue. Shown below, the theme begins in the soprano. It lasts three full measures before the alto picks it up in the up beat of third measure. Notice the c# at the end of the soprano line which guides the listener into b minor.
Theme
When the three voices are all playing, the listener finds themselves enriched in colorful polyphony. The fugue then continues into a transitional circle progression which is
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