The subject and countersubject were initially used in Athena Promachos, the fourth movement of The Hellenic Portraits. This material emerged from harmonisation and so were not 'birthed' as melodies. At the time I felt Athena Promachos required a fugal section, an idea I later rejected. However, I wanted to explore fugal writing and subsequently played around with ideas. I don't think Athena is original, but I like it. I found fugal writing rather boring. I suppose it is a bit like essay writing as opposed to creative writing. Fugues, by necessity, are very structured and impose many restrictions on the composer. I have dedicated this work to my cousin, Richard Elwood, who like his father (and indeed my father), is a keen organist.