On Fugue

The coda is that portion of the Subject, by which it is continued after its second compartment; and which serves, at the same time, to prepare the entrance of the response, and to bring the Counter-Subject.

There are cases where the Coda itself becomes the commencement of the Counter-Subject, and so intimately joins with this latter, as that the Coda and the Counter-Subject form an undistinguished whole.

Here is another example of the same kind, in four voices, by Padre Angelo Predieri:

In modern fugues, it is the habit to prolong the Coda of the Response, before the Subject re-enters; this plan is wise, and should be maintained. It has the double advantage of causing the re-entrance of the subject to be desired, and of the imparting variety to the composition, by breaking the monotony of subjects and responses too closely brought in; it contributes to the elegance and good conducting of a fugue, and it may also furnish an additional theme to the imitations and digressions. This applies to every kind of fugue, whatever its number of parts.

Example of a second attach of the subject immediately after the response without the coda:

Example with the coda:

It will be seen here, that the latter example has the advantage; and that the intervention of the coda, between the response and the Re-Entrance of the subject, has a very good effect.