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The Spin Doctor Europadisc's Weekly Column

Works in Focus: J.S. Bach’s ‘Art of Fugue’

  13th July 2022

13th July 2022


In any reckoning of Bach’s most popular works, the great vocal masterpieces (St Matthew and St John Passions, Mass in B minor and Christmas Oratorio), concertos (particularly the ‘Brandenburg’ Concertos) and instrumental works such as the Cello Suites, Violin Sonatas and Partitas, and the Goldberg Variations, are likely to be the frontrunners. But for many Bach aficionados, the apex of Bach’s compositional output is Die Kunst der Fuge (‘The Art of Fugue’), a collection of fourteen fugues and four canons which, ever since his death in 1750, has acquired a kind of mythic status. Bach appears to have started work on it in the late 1730s, at a time when he had amassed a working repertoire of cantatas for the main Leipzig churches and could turn to more personal concerns, particularly exploring in greater depth the creative possibilities of counterpoint (the simultaneous combination of two or more melodies) for which he had always displayed a penchant and of which he was regarded as one of the foremost living exponents.

An early version of The Art of Fugue (as yet untitled) was completed in 1742, comprising twelve fugues and two canons. In the following years, and up to his death, this was subjected by Bach to refinement, enrichment and expansion. Only complications from an eye operation prevented him from completing the work and seeing it through to publication as an unprecedented practical textbook of fugal writing. In the event it was left to his son Carl Philipp Emanuel to see the project to the presses: a first edition appeared in 1751, with the chorale prelude ‘Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein’ offered as ‘compensation’ for the incomplete final colossal fugue (Contrapunctus 14).

In both its early and later versions, The Art of Fugue is a systematically organised cycle of Contrapuncti (‘counterpoints’) based on a single theme. It starts with ‘simple’ fugues (using just the theme or its inversion), before progressing to counter-fugues (where the original and inverted forms of the theme are combined), multi-themed fugues, mirror fugues (written in such a way that the entire piece can be played ‘upside-down’), and strict canons (where the melody is imitated in its entirety at various intervals). The theme is presented ‘straight’, in inversion, rhythmically altered, decorated, and against its own diminution (with note values twice as fast) and augmentation (note values twice as slow). Unlike Bach’s other large collections, such as the two books of The Well-Tempered Clavier, The Art of Fugue is cast throughout in the key of D minor, and in purely stylistic terms it is it is less varied. A predominant atmosphere of Renaissance-style stile antico vocal polyphony is offset by Contrapunctus 6 being labelled ‘in Style Francese’ (in the French style, i.e. with prominent dotted figuration), and by the more florid keyboard-style figuration of some of the later contrapuncti and canons.

If that all sounds dry as dust, think again: The Art of Fugue as a whole is suffused with a mood of classical simplicity and elegance that is balanced by some extraordinarily rich harmonies generated by the music’s independent lines. The theme itself (see illustration above) is particularly suited to the task of seemingly limitless variation and manipulation for which Bach employs it. A rising perfect fifth from d′ to a′, then a falling third to f′ and again to the original d′, outline a chord of D minor, then a downward semitone inflection to the leading note c♯, followed by an upward scale to g′ and back down to d′. Arpeggiation, neighbour-note and scale are the fundamental building blocks of all melodic writing in the western classical tradition, and here they are collected in a theme of noble simplicity but extraordinary polyphonic and harmonic potential.

For many years the notation of The Art of Fugue puzzled scholars and musicians: each piece is written on as many as four separate staves, one for each contrapuntal part. With no instrumentation specified, this ‘open score’ appearance led to a variety of theories and arrangements for assorted combinations of instruments. However, in 1952 an influential tome by Gustav Leonhardt argued that the open score was a standard notation for contrapuntally complex keyboard works by such composers as Froberger and Frescobaldi, with which Bach was very familiar. Furthermore, the entire work fell within the compass of the 18th-century harpsichord, and all but one or two of the pieces lay with relative ease under the compass of two hands. It took a while for Leonhardt’s argument to enter mainstream thinking, but in recent decades the idea that The Art of Fugue was designed not merely as ‘eye music’ for intellectual appreciation, nor as a work for unspecified chamber or orchestral ensemble, but for keyboard performance (harpsichord, clavichord or organ) by a single performer is now widely accepted.

Several musicians have attempted to complete the work’s gigantic final fugue, culminating in the reappearance of the main theme itself, most notable among them Donald Tovey, Helmut Walcha and more recently Davitt Moroney. Yet many performers, if they play Contrapunctus 14 at all, choose to leave it petering out, the final notes dangling poignantly in mid-phrase. As a whole, The Art of Fugue is an extraordinary example of the kind of ‘late style’ that would later characterise the final works of Beethoven, Brahms and many others. It has an outward classical elegance while paying obvious tribute to earlier models, in order to achieve music that combines staggering contrapuntal and harmonic complexity with a comprehensive overarching plan. This is music occupied totally with itself, not with any external considerations, and it is little wonder that Bach’s late fascination with the rich possibilities of counterpoint became a template for subsequent composers in their later years.

Recordings of The Art of Fugue are many and various, each highlighting different aspects of this extraordinary music, from harpsichord or piano to viol consort, string quartet, saxophones and a variety of orchestral versions. Our own recommendations are unashamedly biased towards harpsichord and organ, these being the sonorities that seem best suited to this work, with its roots in an earlier age even as it lays down challenges that can still seem compellingly contemporary. However, small ensembles can also help in following the individual contrapuntal lines, as can a study score with which to follow the intricacies of the music itself.

Recommended recordings:

Early version:
Fabio Bonizzoni (harpsichord)  GCDP31510
Sébastien Guillot (harpsichord)  8557796

Organ:
George Ritchie  FSFDVD001
A remarkable performance on a central German-style organ in Arizona (!), complemented by several other late organ works by Bach plus Walcha’s completion of the final fugue; and a fascinating companion DVD with a film about the work itself (featuring bach scholar Christoph Wolff) and the instrument, as well as Ritchie’s own illuminating comments on each of the work’s component numbers.
Also worth seeking out are recordings by Helmut Walcha (Ritchie’s teacher), Kei Koito and (most recently) Samuel Kummer.
 
Ensemble version:
Phantasm (viol consort)  PSC1135
Includes only Contrapuncti 1-11 plus the unfinished final fugue, but supplemented by Mozart’s arrangements of Bach fugues and his own Fugue in G minor, K401.
 
Overall recommendation (harpsichord):
Robert Hill  92134
Using a wonderfully clean’n’lean-sounding Italian-style instrument in the same registration throughout, Hill allows the music itself, the varied invention of each number, as well as some finely deployed flexible tempi, to create a sense of colour. Like Ritchie, he has the measure of The Art of Fugue’s extraordinary sweep. Michael Behringer provides the extra hands needed for Contrapuncti 12 and 13. Hill plays the late version of the score, but also includes early versions of four Contrapuncti and one of the canons.
Also recommended: Gustav Leonhardt (1969) and Davitt Moroney (1985)
 
Recommended score:
ed. Peter Williams (Mainz & London: Eulenberg, 1986)
Williams follows the original layout on separate staves, but with modern clefs (treble, alto, bass), making this miniature score an excellent way to follow the music in detail. Includes a detailed introduction.

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