Bach J.S: Art of Fugue [Import]

Track Listings

1. Contrapunctus 1

2. Contrapunctus 2

3. Contrapunctus 3

4. Contrapunctus 4

5. Canon Alla Ottava

6. Contrapunctus 5

7. Contrapunctus 6, A 4, In Stylo Francese

8. Contrapunctus 7, A 4 Per Augmebtationem Et Diminutionem

9. Canon Alla Decima, In Contrapunctus Alla Terza

10. Contrapunctus 9, A 4, Alla Duodecima

11. Contrapunctus 10, A 4, Alla Decima

12. Contrapunctus 8, A 3

13. Contrapunctus 11, A 4

14. Canon Alla Duodecima In Contrapunto Alla Quintacanon 12, A 4:

15. A. Rectus

16. B. Inversus Contrapunctus 13, A 3:

17. A. Rectus

18. B.Inversus

19. Fuga A 2 Clav.

20. Alio Modo. Fuga A 2 Clav.

See all 22 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews:

What a terrific bargain!.......2001-11-27

This is a box set of Savall's masterful chamber ensemble recordings of what many would argue are Bach's two greatest works: The Art of the Fugue and The Musical Offering. Handsomely packaged, warmly and clearly recorded, and played with conviction and imagination. This is a fitting monument to Bach's genius and a reminder that his music still fascinates, delights, and intrigues. It is truly inexhaustable music: each time I hear either of these works, it's like hearing something brand new.

Tracks:

Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus I
Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus 2
Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus 3
Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus 4
Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus 5
Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus 6. a 4, im Stile francese
Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus 7, a 4, per Augmentationem et Diminutionem
Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus 8, a 3
Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus 9, a 4, alla Duodecima
Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus 10, a 4, alla Decima
Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus 11, a 4

Tracks:

Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080: Canon alla Ottava
Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080: Canon alla Decima in Contrapuncto alla Terza
Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080: Canon--Duodecima in Contrapuncto alla Quinta
Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080: Canon per Augmentationem in contrario motu
Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus 13, a 3
Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080: Inversus a 3
Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus 12, a 4
Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080: Inversus a 4
Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus 14
Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080: Choral: 'Vor deinen Thron tret' ich hiermit'

Customer Reviews:

Excellent performance.......2006-02-22

This is an excellent performance. My daughter thought it was neat. My son said it was OK. My wife liked it. Guests liked it too. Put that upside down or right side up, either way you go, we all agree it is an excellent performance. We will listen to it again and again. It is excellent in the mountains. It is neat in the marsh. It is OK by the lake....

Intelligent relaxation.......2005-11-03

There are so many performances of Art of the Fugue, highlighting different aspects of this profound music. My music dealer once told me that the Juillard Quartet was "playing with muscles" - he had probably not heard the performance. The reviewer below hits the mark by the characterization "spare and dry". It could seem boring, but the fact is that I prefer this version when I want some intelligent relaxation. This doesn't exclude it from being a lively performance, for some of the movements; it is more the uniform quartet sound for this kind of music that makes the overall mood of it so peaceful. Other times I prefer the elegant performance by Ristenpart or the engaging, emotional account by Munchinger (both orchestral). The colourful one by Savall is also very good, appealing very much to fantasy. This one with Juillard was my first Art of the Fuge and is still unmissable.

Wow.......2005-01-19

Bach's music presents the epitome of the craft of fugue-writing. Fugal forms permeate every part of Bach's writing -- from the most lyrical of the French Suites to the Brandenburg Concertos, to the Musical Offering and the Goldberg Variations, not to mention the Well-Tempered Clavier and the organ fugues. In many ways, all of Bach's work is an "art of fugue." But here we have Bach's genius distilled to its essence. No flowery melodies, no lyricism -- just the pure interaction of interlocking melodies; often dissonant, often disquieting, always incredible. While the Art of Fugue can be played on any arrangement of instruments (several very nice harpsichord and piano versions exist), the quartet arrangement of these pieces allows one to most clearly discern the various voices in these extraordinary fugues (and canons). The Juilliard Quartet provides remarkable performance of this landmark piece. Their style is spare and dry (though not as spare and dry as Emerson SQ's more recent recording). But real beauty bubbles up throughout these learned performances. The final fugue, which although unfinished is among Bach's longest, and which features the theme of Bach's name (Bb, A, C, and B), is played brilliantly and will be savored over again and again. If you have one recording of the Art of Fugue, this should be it.

Juilliard Illuminates Bach's Art of Fugue.......2000-12-13

In this amazing recording of Bach's Art of Fugue, the Juilliard String Quartet truly defines itself as one of the 20th Century's leading string quartets. While the Fugues were not originally composed for string quartet, the Juilliardians make it sound as though it couldn't be performed any other way! From start to finish, this is a must for every Bach-lover's AND string-quartet-lover's library!

Boring!.......2000-07-27

Bach's Art of Fugue is one of my favorite pieces, but I'm not fond of this particular performance of it. Each player seems to be trying to play a solo above the others rather than function as an ensemble, obscuring the counterpoint. There's nothing technically wrong with the performance, but there are far more interesting interpretations of the music on period instruments.

Average customer rating:

The Art of Peter Hurford

The Art of Peter Hurford

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Fugues | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Bach: Great Organ Works

ASIN: B0009OORA6
Release Date: 2005-08-09

Tracks:

Passacaglia
Fugue
Fugue In G Major, BWV 577
Liebster Jesu, Wir Sind Hier, BWV 731
Prelude
Fugue
in Dulci Jubilo, BWV 608
Trio In D Minor, BWV 583
Fantasia In C Major
Fugue In D Major
Sonata No.12 In G Major, K274/271d
Fantasia In F Minor
Vater Unser Im Himmelreich
I. Allegro
II. Adagio
III. Allegro
I. Andante
II. Minue
I. Adagio
II. Allegro
III. Adagio
IV. Allegro

Tracks:

Prelude And Fugue On B.A.C.H.
Chorale Prelude Es Ist Ein Ros Entsprungen, Op.122 No.8
Church Sonata No.14 In C Major, K336/336d
I. Chorale - Andante Sostenuto - Allegro Molto
II. Fugue
III. Finale
Solemn Melody
Choral No.2 In B Minor
I. Lebhaft
II. Ruhig Bewegt
III. Fuge: Massig Bewegt, Heiter
Etude Symphonique
Scherzo
Final (Symphony No.1 In D Minor, Op.14)

Customer Reviews:

The Art of Peter Hurford.......2007-04-18

Easy going organ repertoire with some variation including different instruments or quire with organ in background. The interpretation is more an ambiance one then a concert performance with highlights and more deep moments. May be something to give you the taste of going further in the genre. A great moment : Fantasia in A minor with hoboe.

Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Earl Wild ~ The Art of the Transcription

Average customer rating:

Entertaining
Riveting
A true romantic.
Redemption of the Transcription

Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Earl Wild ~ The Art of the Transcription
Christoph Willibald Gluck , Jean-Philippe Rameau , Johann Sebastian Bach , Richard Wagner , Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov , Fritz Kreisler , Felix Mendelssohn , Gioachino Rossini , Fryderyk Chopin , Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky , Adolf Schulz-Evler , Mily Balakirev , Henri Herz , Sigismond Thalberg , Leopold Godowsky , and Earl Wild
Manufacturer: Philips
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Dances | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Fantasies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Russian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
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Andre Previn: Great Pianists Of The 20th Century (Music Of Mozart, Poulenc, Shostakovich, Gershwin)
Mitsuko Uchida
Daniel Barenboim
Jorge Bolet 1

ASIN: B00000IIYU
Release Date: 1999-04-13

Tracks:

Melodie d'Orphee
Rigaudon
Elegie
Tambourin
Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565
Isoldens Tod
The Flight Of The Bumble-Bee
Liebesleid
A Midsummer Night's Dream: Scherzo
Grande Fantaisie On 'Semiramide'
Chants polonais: My Joys
Chants polonais: Spring
Chants polonais: The Maiden's Wish
Swan Lake: Pas de quatre

Tracks:

Arabesques On 'An der sch, blauen Donau'
Fantasy On 'A Life For The Tsar'
La Cenerentola: Variations On 'Non pita'
Fantasy On 'Don Pasquale', Op.67
Symphonic Metamorphosis On 'Krleben'
7 Virtuoso Etudes: 7 The Man I Love
7 Virtuoso Etudes: 1 I Got Rhythm
7 Virtuoso Etudes: 4 Embraceable You
7 Virtuoso Etudes: 6 Fascinatin' Rhythm
7 Virtuoso Etudes: 5 Somebody Loves Me
7 Virtuoso Etudes: 3 Liza
7 Virtuoso Etudes: 2 Oh, Lady Be Good

Customer Reviews:

Entertaining.......2007-01-23

A very interesting pianist, this. He's an entertainer as well as a serious musician and he plays entertaining pieces. He is also a first class composer of transcriptions. Some of his charming Gershwin transcriptions (for which he is rightly famous) are included on this CD.

Earl Wild has an interesting pedigree in pianistic terms, having studied (if only briefly) with one of Liszt's many pupils. Technically he is often excellent, but some pieces seem to fall more easily under his fingers than others. For example, on another CD he makes rather a meal of Liszt's Grande Galope Chromatique but on this CD he plays superbly the fiendishly difficult Rachmaninoff arrangement of Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream Scherzo - a piece which never lets up in its demand for a deft touch, accuracy and speed. Whatismore, the Scherzo is recorded live, so no editing and barely a single wrong note or misplaced phrase. Bear in mind that Rachmaninoff himself is reputed to have had three takes at it before ending up with a recording he was satisfied with! Overall I don't think Wild has the same order of technical ability as Horowitz, Rachmaninoff, Rubinstein, Barere or Cziffra but he does demonstrate the vital ability to make certain pieces sound "right" in his hands. This certainly doesn't manifest itself in everything he plays, but more in the pieces where he seems to feel at home.

He has obviously put a lot of thought and work into some of these recordings and I would single out the Schubert-Tausig March, Rigaudon, the Midsummer Night's Dream Scherzo, his Gershwin and Tschaikovsky transcriptions and the Blue Danube arabesques as particularly charming and well-performed. I doubt anyone could play his beautiful Embraceable You transcription as well as him. The 2nd Hungarian Rhapsody is also good - solidly played and with plenty of gypsy spirit, and he doesn't pull the piece about all over the place like most pianists do. And the Bumblebee isn't bad either. Also excellent is Gluck's Melodie d'Orphee. He plays this beautifully with exquisitely judged balance and tone. It's a shame some of the other pieces aren't quite as good - Isolde's Liebestod is off target, unfortunately.

I think Earl Wild was one of the great transcribers and it's a shame he didn't write a lot more transcriptions because each one is a beautiful addition to the piano literature. His short and sweet transcription of the Pas de Quatre from Swan Lake (which he plays on this CD) is a total masterpiece. He also dared to play entertaining pieces and to indulge in showmanship, and why not? Why should a concert be a dry lecture? Yes, he is one of the great pianists but not because he had a unique sound or technique - more because he was a great and daring performer and because he made a contribution to piano literature for which the world ought to be grateful.

Riveting.......2000-07-03

This is an incredible CD, marred only by audience coughing and the unnecessary, deafening applause at the end of most cuts, reminiscent of a sitcom laugh track (hence the 4 star rating instead of 5); otherwise, it would have been perfect. The excellent selection of music and Wild's virtuoso playing are both marvelous. I was particularly taken with the Bach fuge and the splendid Gershwin transcriptions. Don't miss this one!

A true romantic........2000-06-21

If you've never heard Earl Wild before, this is a good starting point for you. His technique is impeccable and his mastery of tone allows him to play the most intricate music in the clearest manner. I must admit this disc didn't grab my attention from the very beginning. I found many of these recordings to be an inconsequential jingle-jangle of notes with no true meaning. I still feel that way about the two Thalberg pieces. He may have been Liszt's worthy pianistic rival, but as a composer he comes nowhere close to the great Abbée. Here these pieces get as good a performance as they are likely to get. Also I think Moszkowski's arrangement of the D minor Prelude and Fugue is greatly inferior to Busoni's. I don't care for the way it's played here either. It's too rushed for my taste and it sounds too homophonic, I don't hear the counterpoint of the fugue. This, I believe, is the fault of the arranger and performer alike. The rest of the recordings are excellent. Schulz-Evler's Arabesques are brilliantly played although my favourite recording will always be Jorge Bolet's. Godowsky's transcriptions are so complex and crowded with melodic lines and sonorities that it will leave you gasping for breath. Their performance demands technical powers of the highest caliber. Without that the music will drown in notes. Earl Wild posesses precicely this technique, and in his hands these pieces sound spectacular. Henri Herz's variations may lack profundity but are charming nonetheless. The gems on this disc are Wild's "Virtuoso Etudes" after Gershwin. "Concert Etudes" would have been an even more appropriate title, for despite all the virtuosity, harmonic and melodic invention is the true protagonist. The mood ranges from witty to atmospheric and together with Wild's technique and beautiful tone these pieces create a wonderful unioun. Last but definently not least, I would like to mention the Glinka-Balakirev Fantasy. Here the art of transcription is at its peak and as before, Wild is in full command. Here especially is where his musical gifts shines the brightest. He has it all, perfect legato playing, beautiful singing tone and crystal clear pedaling. A flawless performance. Earl Wild is without doubt a member of the pianistic elite, an old school romantic. I for one think he would have deserved a second unit in the "Great Pianists" series.

Redemption of the Transcription.......2000-02-24

Be prepared: the first piece on this album weaves such a magical spell that you may be startled out of your chair by the applause at the end. The bulk of this collection is from a concert performance, and it was a humdinger. Wild not only displays his astonishing virtuosity, but demonstrates that many of these arrangements and transcriptions are valuable pieces of music in their own right. The Rameau becomes 20th-century neoclassicism through Godowsky and Wild. The Arabesques on the Blue Danube Waltzes becomes a more serious piece than the original ever was. And so on: the bottom line is it's an experience that you don't want to miss. The real gems of this collection, however, are not from the live recital: what I find myself going back to again and again are the Gershwin transcriptions by Wild himself. Breath-taking virtuosity, fascinating arrangements, a beautiful recorded sound, and some great tunes!

Average customer rating:

The Art of Virgil Fox Vol. 2
!

Art of Virgil Fox, Vol. 2

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Minuets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Psalms | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

The Art Of Virgil Fox
Virgil Fox Encores
The Wanamaker Legacy
Bach: Great Organ Works
Works for Organ - Essential Classics

ASIN: B000002S76
Release Date: 1996-04-23

Tracks:

We All Believe in One God
Fantasia on The Old Hundredth
Perpetuum Mobile
Giga
Love's Old Sweet Song
Kamenoi Ostrow (Reve Angelique)
Poem
A Dream (Ein Traum)
Dreams
At Dawning
Minuet in G
Calm As The Night
A Perfect Day

Customer Reviews:

The Art of Virgil Fox Vol. 2.......2007-04-01

I find the recording quality of this CD to be very good. As a child I had the opportunity to meet the organist Virgil Fox through my mother, who was a friend and colleague of his (she was the soprano soloist at the Riverside Church where he was organist - the Riverside Church is also the place where the recordings were made). I also heard Mr. Fox live and found him to be a first-class artist. I can recommend the CD without reservation. Alexander Stevenson

!.......2003-11-19

This CD is just a small sample of the greatness of Virgil Fox. However, it is a must-have. It demonstrates the breadth of works which Fox mastered and in the more sentimental songs, those which he beautifully interpreted during his illustrious career; and these recordings at Riverside Church are an indispensable part of his legacy. The program starts with the majestic "We All Believe in one God", where we hear the control of dynamics and unique way Fox played Bach. Vaughn-Williams' work is an interesting fantasia on the familiar religious tune. The highlight of the CD is the Perpetuum Mobile. A favorite concert piece of Fox, it is an amazing flurry of notes, showing his amazing mastery of the pedalboard, and building to a tremendous crescendo and brilliant arpeggio. Giga is a rapid, merry piece which romps along in the manuals. Tracks 1-4 are the virtuoso organ pieces. Starting with Love's Old Sweet Song, # 5-13, the great interpretations of transcriptions, songs, and sentimental American pieces begin. The piano work Kamenoi Ostrow is a great transcription. A Dream and Calm as the Night are beautiful songs which are beautifully styled on the organ. In short, buy this CD - it is a musical and masterful recording.

Average customer rating:

Too Much Reverberation
Powerful and compelling
This version wasn't for me
Essential Bach
something fundamental

Bach: Art of the Fugue / Keller Quartet
Keller Quartet
Manufacturer: Ecm Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Improvisation | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

ECM Classical | ECM Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

ECM Jazz & World | ECM Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000025HN5
Release Date: 2000-02-01

Tracks:

Die Kunst Der Fuge: Contrapunctus 1
Die Kunst Der Fuge: Contrapunctus 2
Die Kunst Der Fuge: Contrapunctus 3
Die Kunst Der Fuge: Contrapunctus 4
Die Kunst Der Fuge: Contrapunctus 5
Die Kunst Der Fuge: Contrapunctus 6 A 4 In Stylo Franchese
Die Kunst Der Fuge: Contrapunctus 7 A 4 Per Augmentationem Et Diminutionem
Die Kunst Der Fuge: Contrapunctus 8 A 3
Die Kunst Der Fuge: Contrapunctus 9 A 4 All Duodecima
Die Kunst Der Fuge: Contrapunctus 10 A 4 Alla Decima
Die Kunst Der Fuge: Contrapunctus 11 A 4
Die Kunst Der Fuge: Contrapunctus 12 A 4
Die Kunst Der Fuge: Contrapunctus Inversus 12 A 4
Die Kunst Der Fuge: Contrapunctus 13 A 3
Die Kunst Der Fuge: Contrapunctus Inversus 13 A 3
Die Kunst Der Fuge: Canon Per Augmentationem In Contrario Motu
Die Kunst Der Fuge: Canon Alla Ottava
Die Kunst Der Fuge: Canon Alla Decima Contrapunto Alla Terza
Die Kunst Der Fuge: Canon Alla Duodecima Contrapunto Alla Quinta
Die Kunst Der Fuge: Contrapunctus 14

Customer Reviews:

Too Much Reverberation.......2004-10-29

The problem I have with this recording is the inordinate amount of reverb (echo). It sounds like it was recorded in a very large room (church?) with the room microphones only. It creates beautiful sonorities during slow passages, but unfortunately tends to blur faster passages to the point of rendering the performance unlistenable. It also takes away most of the attack and bow rasp which are an integral part of a performance. Part of me wonders if this wasn't done purposefully to attract a more, uh, "new age" crowd looking for some nice background music. Because as forefront music to actually listen to it grates the nerves after awhile and does not bear repeated listening.

Powerful and compelling.......2004-06-13

I own four different versions of 'The Art of Fugue,' including a rendition by the Emerson String Quartet, the Naxos organ offering, and a piano rendering by Vladimir Feltsman. The Keller Quartet, however, brings a whole new dimension to this most impressive of Bach's works.
Playing without vibrato for the duration of the entire disc, the quartet transforms the 'Art of Fugue' into a haunting, deeply moving musical experience. While many versions can seem rushed and frentic (the Emersons), or slow and plodding (the Naxos organ) in some of the contrapuncti, the Kellers seem to get the tempi just right. The stretti fugues (V-VII) are lovingly and gently brought out, and the overall effect of the entire disc is one of haunting, soft beauty, almost as though Bach were attempting to paint a sound portrait of a calm, grey day. The swirling, turbulent 'Canon at the Twelfth,' with its spinning cello entrance, is profoundly moving, as is the entire disc. The notes accompanying the disc feature a seperate booklet containing an essay by German musicologist Hans-Klaus Jungheinrich, which expounds on the theoretical as well as practical implications of Bach's work. Overall, the disc departs from the usual, mathematically precise renderings of the 'Art' to create a lush, even romantic, treatment of what is essentially a textbook in sound. Don't miss it!

This version wasn't for me.......2002-04-18

Since many of the other reviews are raves, I thought I'd offer a contrary view. I bought this and returned it almost immediately. The playing seemed rough and almost out of tune, and there was a strange rasping sound every so often - perhaps some noise from the performers emoting as they played. This sort of "close miking" is not to my taste - one of the reasons I don't like Glenn Gould. There might be such as thing as TOO clear a recording! Perhaps I just got a bad copy, although that seems unlikely on CD - listen to the samples and make up your own mind. Personally, I'd recommend the Labadie version on Dorian for its clear, almost flawless tone, or the Julliard String Quartet if you are looking for something a bit looser. Charles Rosen's piano version (on the Bach Keyboard Album) is highly recommended as well.

Of course, the work itself is amazing and a must-have for any lover of counterpoint. That's why I kept trying until I got a version I really liked.

Essential Bach.......2002-03-31

I get goosebumps every time I hear the first bars of the Contrapunctus 2, so simple and so full of genius in the same time. Sometimes it seems that this simple B-A-C-H motive could have been invented by a child, but still it sounds so compelling and wondrous, that you'll keep humming it all the day. As the liner notes suggest, this is a musical version of Immanuel Kants categorial imperative. Philosophy in one musical masterpiece.

Keller Quartet does a great job interpreting the musical masterpiece J.S. Bach, no simple feat since the compositions have to be regarded as one of the most magnificient ones in the history of the western music. Bach did not leave any notes on the instrumentation of the Die Kunst der Fuge and it has been performed with various kinds of ensembles. This recording is by string quartet. The organ recordings usually sound too monotonous, the baroque orchestra too varied. The Die Kunst der Fuge seems to be suited for string quartet. The string quartet is my personal favourite because it leaves little opportunities for musical gimmicks and requires a lot of professional expertise and musical sense. Keller quartet is ample on both. On some of the parts on the recording the quartet does sound a bit cold and technical though. A great performance nonetheless, maybe I am just waiting for the impossible, the perfect recording of this masterpiece.

Sound quality is great as always in ECM recordings, I must admit that I haven't heard one bad recording, in technical sense, from the ECM label, even though the performance is not always top quality (or to my liking). I have owned this recording now for about three years and it has become, in this short time, one of my absolute favourites among the great recordings like Böhm's '72 recording of Beethoven's 9th and Kna's '62 Bayreuth Parsifal.

something fundamental.......2001-10-09

Skip this one if you're looking for a review replete with comparisons to other Bach works or even those of other classical composers; I am essentially ignorant when it comes to classical music. This is exactly the reason I went out and bought this CD. I've plenty of Herbie and Miles and Jimi and Stevie and Lyle on my shelves, but no classical music. Must broaden musical horizons, I thought yesterday, and went out and bought this because I know who Bach is, because I remember reading in Einstein's biography of Mozart that the fugue is a difficult form, and, admittedly, because I liked the cover photograph.

I lucked out. This CD will have you stretched out on your sofa or your floor or pulled over to the side of the road, looking at the ceiling and trying to come up with synonyms for WOW.

That is the extent of my input on this: As I'd tell anyone interested in but unfamiliar with jazz to start with Miles Davis's "Kind of Blue", I'll suggest to anyone without too much practice in the art of making his or her way through the intimidating CD racks of a classical music department, who worries that the cashier might laugh at his/her selection: Check this one out. Or, for that matter, anyone with that knowledge: for I cannot imagine anyhuman with some iota of emotion--intellect and music theory background need not figure into appreciation of this CD, so fundamental are the feelings it elicits--I cannot imagine anyone not appreciating this recording, realizing it's worth much more than the number printed on the price tag.

Average customer rating:

Interesting program

The Art Of Piano Transcription

Manufacturer: Video Artists Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Fantasies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Fugues | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000003LKT
Release Date: 1995-08-22

Tracks:

Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir: Sinfonia in D
Chorale And Chorale Prelude, 'Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme'
Fugue In G Major, 'The Gigue'
Chorale And Chorale Prelude, 'Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ'
Prelude And Fugue In A Minor
'By The Beautiful Blue Danube,' Concert Arabesques
'Fruhlingsglaube - Die linden Lufte sind erwacht'
'Ad nos, ad salutarem undam': Fantasy
'Ad nos, ad salutarem undam': Fugue

Customer Reviews:

Interesting program.......2000-10-23

The late Kevin Oldham's art is well captured in this interesting disk. The first half is made up of Bach transcriptions. They are lively performances well worth a listen. One curious point of differentiation in Oldham's disk is that he prefaces the Chorale Preludes he plays (Wachet auf, Ich ruf zu dir) with the Chorale itself. I doubt this really adds or detracts from the disk very much, but it's novel and different. One attractive feature is the addition of transcriptions by Ernest Nicholls and Oldham -- specifically of the sinfonia to the 29th Cantata (reminiscent very much of the Preludio for violin) and of the G major Gigue. They are all played with crisp detail and attention to voicing. The Bach performance I find least attractive is the Bach/Liszt A minor P&F. Oldham eschews the pedal, which adds to textural clarity, but tends to enervate what can be a thrilling performance. I would recommend Pizarro for this work.

Following on from the Bach, we get a Schubert lied, Faith in Spring, which is nicely phrased and alert, although not really very special. Following that, we get a most enjoyable Strauss/ Schulz-Evler Blue Danube, which is not the finest available -- Lhevinne stands alone -- but captures both the spangle and waltz lilt very well. The final item on the disk is probably the single strongest reason to buy it -- a performance of Busoni's transcription of Liszt's Fantasy & Fugue on Meyerbeer's Ad nos, ad salutarem undam. Contemporary with the b minor sonata and the B-A-C-H F&F, the work can be a little episodic, but it represents a vital opportunity to extend the large scale Liszt repertoire and contains, especially in the Fugue, some wonderful and exciting music, brought to as fine a conclusion as one could hope for. Oldham captures the work very well, although he is not completely secure in the final pages. The recording is good, without being exceptional, and Oldham's clear playing is well caught. If the program appeals, I recommend it.

Bach J.S.: The Art of Fugue (Ger)
Average customer rating:

Superb

My favorite version.

Bach J.S.: The Art of Fugue (Ger)
Goebel , and Musica Antiqua Koln
Manufacturer: Polygram Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
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Bach: Die Kunst der Fuge

Pachelbel - Canon & Gigue · Bach · Handel · Vivaldi / Musica Antiqua Köln · Goebel

ASIN: B000025U5X
Release Date: 1995-08-01

Tracks:

Bwv1080-Contrapunctus 1
Bwv1080-Contrapunctus 2
Bwv1080-Contrapunctus 3
Bwv1080-Contrapunctus 4
Bwv1080-Cannon Alla Ottava
Contrapunctus 5
Contrapunctus 6, A 4, In Stylo Francese
Contrapunctus 2, A 4, Per Augmentationem Et Diminutionem
Cannon Alla Decima, In Contrapunto Alla Terza
Contrapunctus 9, A 4, All Duodecima
Contrapunctus 10, A 4, Alla Decima
Contrapunctus 8, A 3
Contrapunctus 11, A 4
Canon Alla Duodecima In Contrapunto Alla Quinta
Contrapunctus 12, A 4. Rectus
Contrapunctus 12, A 4. Inversus
Contrapunctus 13, A 3. Rectus
Contrapunctus 13, A 3. Inversus
Fuga A 2 Clav.
Alio Modo. Fuga A 2 Clav.
Canon Per Augmentactionem In Contrario Motu
Fuga A 3 Soggetti (Contrapunctus 14)

Album Details

The Art of Fugue was J.s. Bach's Final Composition which Many Justifiably Regard as the Apotheosis of his Legacy. This Arrangement by the Musica Antiqua Koln is One of the Most Austere Chamber Versions on CD with Nearly Half of the Movements Interspersed Evenly Throughout the Performance Played by Only One Or Two Instrumentalists. In Essence, One Gets the Advantage of Listening to Both Solo Instrumental and Ensemble Approaches Here! Incidentally, When this Performance was Recorded in 1984 Many in the Group were Up and Coming Musicians Rising Through the Ranks Though Today Count Among the Most Highly Regarded Period Instrument Elite.

Customer Reviews:

Superb.......2004-01-14

Baroque string quartet and harpsichord share the contrapuncti. The quartet playing is definitive, with natural and loving playing of the individual lines and at the same time great precision of ensemble and unity of mind. A very considered performance, which seems to have left no note or texture to chance. Playing is focused throughout - on the notes, but at the same time on the great longing of the music; the searching harmonies not finding resolution until the final D major chord, added here to complete a work left incomplete by Bach's death - the players taking the duty of closing Bach's eyelids. Without laying out the object of this longing, this performance goes as far as can be gone.

My favorite version........2003-07-19

I don't know what it is about Musica Antiqua Koln, but everytime I hear something by them it seems everyone else plays it wrong.
I would say this is a very authentic style recording. I loved their choice of tempi and instruments. They play things a little faster than other groups, this isn't that drastic. It's crisp, clear, and expressive.

Average customer rating:

A Superb Harpsichord Version of 'Art of Fugue'
Bach's Art of Fugue on Naxos

J.S. Bach: The Art of Fugue

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Art of Fugue: Bach Fugues for Keyboard, 1715-1750
Bach: The Art of Fugue; Musical Offering

ASIN: B000F6YWTO
Release Date: 2006-05-16

Tracks:

Fugue 1
Fugue 2
Fugue 3
Fugue 4
Fugue 5
Fugue 6
Fugue 7
Fugue 8
Canon In Hypodiapason
Fugue 10
Fugue 11
Canon In Hypodiatessaron, Al Roverscio E Per Augmentationem
Fugue 13 (A) Forma Recta
Fugue 13 (B) Forma Inversa
Fugue 14 (Forma Inversa)
Canon Al Roverscio Et Per Augmentationem
Fugue 19 (Fragment Of A Fugue With Several Subjects)

Customer Reviews:

A Superb Harpsichord Version of 'Art of Fugue'.......2006-06-01

Surprisingly there aren't that many recordings of Bach's summa, 'Art of Fugue,' played on the harpsichord. Granted, he laid it out in open score, leaving instrumentation an enigma. But it has long been played and recorded on various keyboard instruments including piano, organ, even claviorgan -- not to mention saxophones, string quartet, string orchestra, guitar duet, recorder quartet etc. There was a pioneering 1950 harpsichord recording by Gustav Leonhart, and subsequent excellent versions by Kenneth Gilbert and Davitt Moroney. This mid-price Naxos recording by Sébastien Guillot is every bit as distinguished as its forebears.

The sound of Guillot's harpsichord is a delight. It is gentle rather than brusque. One does not hear the annoying chuff so often heard in harpsichord recordings where the microphones have been placed too close to the instrument. Indeed, the sound of the insrument is so clear and lifelike that one can follow the separate contrapuntal strands with ease and no aural fatigue. Guillot does not indulge in any distracting mannerisms. He varies tempi just enough to give interest in what can be, let's face it, a bit monotonous when listened to straight through. He plays the work in the order found in Bach's autograph, not in its first published version. This means he leaves out some accretions of later years. He does not supply a completion for the unfinished Fugue XIX but simply leaves off when Bach's score does. I find this moving and, in some strange way, satisfying. It reminds us Bach was a mortal being, not just a Great Composer.

I have tended to prefer 'Art of Fugue' on piano, or in the spectacular version made a few years ago by the Emerson Quartet, but for now this version featuring the clean and limpid sound of Guillot's harpsichord is the one I listen to again and again.

Scott Morrison

Bach's Art of Fugue on Naxos.......2006-05-26

In his biography, "Johann Sebastian Bach: the Learned Musician" (2000), Christoph Wolff wrote (p. 437): "the 'Art of Fugue' stands before us as the most comprehensive summary of the aged Bach's instrumental language. At the same time it is a highly personal statement ... Bach created an autonomous work of art that embodies the character and universality of his art." Wolff further observed on the nature of the "Art of Fugue" (p. 432):

"The entire multisectional work is derived from the same thematic material, a musical plan that presupposes a far-reaching thought process, regarding the harmonic-contrapuntal implications of the chosen theme. The result is more than a study of fugue: it is a compendium of the range offered by the utmost concentration and the highest technical demands of instrumental counterpoint."

Bach had composed substantial portions of the Art of Fugue by 1742. Bach continued to add to and revise his work and was preparing it for publication at the time of his death in 1751. The work is not scored for a specific instrument. I have heard it performed live on the organ. On this new Naxos CD Sebastien Guillot performs this sublime music on the harpsichord, an excellent choice for capturing the linear character of the music. Indeed, the Art of Fugue can be viewed as a successor to Bach's two other great compilations of fugue: the "Well-Tempered Clavier" and the "Goldberg Variations". Guillot's instrument has a subdued tone, with little of the silvery, bell-like sound characteristic of some harpsichords.

This recording is unusual in that it adopts the ordering of the pieces that Bach utilized in his manuscript. When he prepared the work for publication, he changed the title of each work from "fugue" or "canon" to "Contrapunctus". In addition, Bach ordered the work differently, arranging it into five sections each of which illustrated a different form of contrapuntal technique. Although it does not reflect Bach's final decision about the organization of his masterpiece, Bach's initial version performed here captures the monumental, building style of the work, as each fugue or canon gradually increases in length and complexity.

The "Art of Fugue" constitutes Bach's final testament to the fugual style and its potentialities. The entire cycle is based upon a single simple theme stated at the outset in the first work, "Fugue 1" in this version. The work opens with a series of eight increasingly complex fugues. The initial group is followed by a series of difficult fugues and canons and concludes with an unfinished four-theme fugue. One of the themes of the final fugue is based on the musical notes B-A-C-H (B-flat). This final section remained unfinished. The first few fugues are short, and they expand as the work progresses.

Each part of the set opens with simple material, a variant of the opening theme, and Bach gradually unfolds the scope and implications of his original idea in complex architecture, using the full range of fugal technique. The music is highly organized, difficult, and abstract. It is Bach writing both with total freedom and with the tightest discipline, creating an inexhaustible work of mind and the imagination.

This music requires patience, but the listener will be amply repaid. The "Art of Fugue" is a transcendental score, at the summit of Bach's achievement.

Robin Friedman

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J.S. Bach: Die Kunst der Fuge

Manufacturer: Harmonia Mundi Fr.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Improvisation | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B0000AOVOG
Release Date: 2003-10-14

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1. Contrapunctus 1
2. Contrapunctus 2
3. Contrapunctus 3
4. Contrapunctus 4
5. Canon Alla Ottava
6. Contrapunctus 5
7. Contrapunctus 6, A 4, In Stylo Francese
8. Contrapunctus 7, A 4 Per Augmebtationem Et Diminutionem
9. Canon Alla Decima, In Contrapunctus Alla Terza
10. Contrapunctus 9, A 4, Alla Duodecima
11. Contrapunctus 10, A 4, Alla Decima
12. Contrapunctus 8, A 3
13. Contrapunctus 11, A 4
14. Canon Alla Duodecima In Contrapunto Alla Quintacanon 12, A 4:
15. A. Rectus
16. B. Inversus Contrapunctus 13, A 3:
17. A. Rectus
18. B.Inversus
19. Fuga A 2 Clav.
20. Alio Modo. Fuga A 2 Clav.