Fuging tune

Fuging tune (or fuging psalm tune). This is a species of country or parish church psalmody (see ‘West Gallery music’*) featuring one or more sections in which different words are sung simultaneously. Intended to be sung strophically, the fuging tune normally begins like an ordinary psalm tune, with all voices singing the words together but, usually in the third phrase of a four-phrase melody, fuging is introduced. In the fuging section, the voices enter one at a time a measure apart, introducing verbal conflict into the ensemble. The fuging section generally lasts for only one phrase, the final phrase being again homophonic. This definition describes the most common form of the fuging tune,...