Fugue | www.LaurieBettsHughes.com by Laurie Betts Hughes

Originally designating a pearl of irregular shape, "Baroque" describes a style of European architecture, music, and art of the 17th and 18th centuries that is characterized by ornate detail. Jazz, by contrast, is described by Louis Armstrong as "If you have to ask what it is, you'll never know." To introduce the elaborate works of Bach in the tradition of a vocal jazz idiom is a concept by Ward Swingle.

This piece is a fusion of Baroque and jazz styles offered in the "Swingle style." Ward Swingle studied music, particularly jazz, from a very young age. He specialized in scat singing jazz standards and subsequently applied the scat singing idea to the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. This concept was the foundation for The Swingle Singers whose early recordings won five Grammy Awards.

In the spirit of Ward Swingle, "Fugue"is set with scat lyrics with improvised vocal percussion.