The birth of Lingua Accord
Brussels and the First Notes of Self Reliance
I first moved to Brussels in 2016 completely alone, Brussels stripping away everything familiar I had back in my home land, Greece. Before I came here I was quite sensitive, often living within the protective sphere of my family. Even in the UK where I spent 5 years as part of my studies, I was not alone. I was with my sisters.
Little did I know that in 2025 , nine years later I would be ultimately self reliant, at peace with myself , my life, my surroundings. Happier than ever.
Little did I know that my life arc in Brussels resembled music as envisioned by Johann Sebastian Bach in his fugue.
I have finally understood that you do not need much information, you need an intellectually and emotionally stimulating idea that will revolutionize your world and your task is to build everything around it.
This idea, for me being self reliance, is the so called fugue subject.
Fugue
Understanding the Fugue: Subject, Answer , Counterpoint, Counter subject
A fugue is a structured musical piece used by Bach where several independent voices explore the same melody:
It opens with the main melody which is called the subject . The subject is the DNA of the fugue , the short idea out of which everything is generated. Following it comes the answer which has the same essence as the melody of the subject but usually at a different pitch level . In this sense it gives the impression of an echo .
Before the answer there is only one voice playing , after is enters we have two independent voices sounding at the same time. In this sense the music feels fuller, more dimensional and complex. It is the moment when structure, harmony is initiated, the so called notion of the counterpoint – multiple voices working together- blooming.
A sibling of a counterpoint can be found in the world of perfumery when after the top notes, heart and base notes start giving off olfactory vibes together.
Exposition: When the Theme first takes Shape
The subject and answer are part of the so called section of exposition, the first major section of a fugue . When voice 2 ( the answer ) enters voice 1 doesn’t stop – it starts a new line ( the counter subject) . Even though the counter subject is a different melody it is designed to harmonize with the answer , but usually contrasts with the subject . For example if the subject is smooth, the countersubject might be more lively .
After this voice 3 enters with the subject ( back in the original key)
When voice 3 enters , voice 2 and 1 keep playing but voice 2 does not keep playing the answer, voice 1 does not keep playing the countersubject . What they do play now is usually free counterpoint, lines that fit with the subject but are not the subject nor are they the countersubject .
After voice 4 enters with the answer, voice 3 switches to counter subject or free counterpoint , voice 1 and 2 keep playing free counterpoint .
Development : Tension, Counter Subjects , Transformations
When the exposition is finished and we enter the development phase, where all voices of the exposition keep playing into free counterpoint mode in the episodes section while in middle entries at least one voice as the subject is transformed and the other voices often bring back the countersubject against it
The development phase thus alternates between:
Episodes
>Passages without a full statement of the subject
>built on fragments
>lighter more fluid in texture
and
middle entries
Passages where the subject or the answer returns.
The subject may be transformed :
inversion ( upside down)
augmentation ( slow down)
diminution ( sped up)
stretto ( overlapping entries)
The final section ( return to home key)
After the development’s alternation of episodes and tranformed subject entries the fugue moves to the final section .
After the wondering the harmony stabilizes back to its original home key.
Very common is the subject appearing in the bass with a big petal point underneath which is called the pedal point entry, while a common feature of the final section is stretto where voices overlap very closely
In the final section Bach likes to have:
>subject in inversion and normal at the same time
>subject in augmentation in one voice while others have it normal
something which creates excitement and tension.
Fugue as Metaphor
Pausing to reflect, in Lingua Accord we have used languages as metaphors to explore design, perfumes, personal development and on so on. Let’s use fugue as a metaphor this time.
In this post we will zoom in the notion of an intellectually seductive idea mentioned in the opening of this post.
Brussels Self Reliance
Self reliance entered my life quietly alone, half naked at first but quite strong as a personal challenge I set to myself when I moved here.
Then came the answer :
Every challenge Brussels through at me became a new voice answering that theme in a different key:
> budling a home of nothing familiar
>learning to stan on my ground professionally
undertesting who i am when no one is watching
Each challenge didn’t weaken me , it echoed self reliance back to me transformed
What ultimately acted as a counterpoint was the world of Brussels itself as well as my past worldview
It was not opposition, nor was it sabotage.
It did not just echo self reliance, it challenged it
the unfamiliar work environment
the quiet night when noone was around
were moments that were woven beside self reliance, bringing to light weak points stretching it.
And the counter subject?
The knowledge that no one is coming and this is your freedom
Counter point and counter subject creating tension, sharpening the subject itself.
Episodes
There were wandering phases when i questioned the idea, moved away from it or let old patterns pull me sideways, but even in these episodes the theme never disappeared.
It lingered quietly waiting its return and then the subject came back stronger deeper unmistakably there , the middle entry moment when it was no longer a survival response but a structurer truth.
At these moments it was turned upside down,when the freedom I wanted demanded more than I could offer,
other times intensified or diminished.
5 years after my landing in Belgium came the final phase when what began as a fragile idea became the architecture of my inner life.
Brussels didnt teach me independence it forced the theme to unfold till it became my grounding principle.
Hard won peace – Cadence When the Theme settles into Harmony
Nine years later came the cadence :
when the subject no longer needed to prove itself
when the counter subject was not that strong
The Birth of Lingua Accord as natural Resolution
It was exaclty at this point that Lingua Accord was born not as a new theme but as natural consequence of the fugue that I had lived .
It could have been born only now because only now do the themes within me move together without conflict
I am now at a greater peace with myself than ever.
It is no coincidence that Lingua Accord is associated with number 2 and rhymes will all the words falling under 2 , themes examined through out this blog whether this means, thresh hold , aldehydes, echo or code . Lingua Accord was born when complexity within me settled into a peaceful , coherent order.
And Its theme? Languages?
Fugue and beautiful language characteristics
Turning back to the word revolutionary idea, idea ( 9 +1=1) resonates with language (1). In this sense, in line with Lingua Accord DNA we will examine Bach Fugue in relation to a beautiful language characteristics. We will zoom in Japanese MA ( interval charged empty space ) and Italian slancio ( momentum, upward lift).
Let’s see where this idea is going to lead us…
Bach’s Fugue (2) : The Hidden Blueprint of a Beautiful Language