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Bach's Die Kunst der Fuge ("The Art of the Fugue") has been played on the piano and in various ensemble transcriptions, including some for the anachronistic string quartet. Harpsichord versions began to appear in the third quarter of the 20th century as players from the Netherlands, especially, began to explore the instrument's history and capabilities. Early music lovers of the day may recall Gustav Leonhardt's version of the work, released on the Musical Heritage Society label and eagerly awaited in that imprint's monthly mailings. It was scholarly, rather severe, and quite engrossing. This version by keyboardist Christophe Rousset follows Leonhardt in several respects. The fugue sections (called "contrapunctus") are all grouped together, followed by the canons, and there is no effort to reduce the work's forbidding abstract quality. Annotator Gaëtan Naulleau quotes musicologist Charles Rosen to the effect that The Art of the Fugue is "above all, a work to be played for oneself, to be felt under one's fingers as much as listened to." Rousset omits the final unfinished triple fugue, although most performers nowadays try to find a place for it in some way, and he adds a second harpsichordist, Korneel Bernolet, on the two mirror fugues. Rousset's Art of the Fugue is intense and inward, and a rather over-resonant hall at the Hôtel de l'Industrie in Paris is not quite the right place for it. Yet, in some ways, Rousset's reading is friendlier than Leonhardt's and even offers a bit of flair. He plays an unusual instrument, a harpsichord from 1750 held in an unnamed collection. This was (at least supposedly), of course, exactly the year in which Bach worked on this swan song, and the instrument has a muscular sound and gives one the feeling that Bach would have found it ideal. It is powerful, a bit rounded, and in tune with the epic nature of the work without losing its interiority. This is a major statement on The Art of the Fugue, rooted in the past but not really like any other version.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080 (Johann Sebastian Bach)
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Christophe Rousset, Harpsichord, MainArtist
2023 Aparté, a label of Little Tribeca 2023 Aparté / Little Tribeca · Les Talens Lyriques
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Christophe Rousset, Harpsichord, MainArtist
2023 Aparté, a label of Little Tribeca 2023 Aparté / Little Tribeca · Les Talens Lyriques
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Christophe Rousset, Harpsichord, MainArtist
2023 Aparté, a label of Little Tribeca 2023 Aparté / Little Tribeca · Les Talens Lyriques
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Christophe Rousset, Harpsichord, MainArtist
2023 Aparté, a label of Little Tribeca 2023 Aparté / Little Tribeca · Les Talens Lyriques
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Christophe Rousset, Harpsichord, MainArtist
2023 Aparté, a label of Little Tribeca 2023 Aparté / Little Tribeca · Les Talens Lyriques
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Christophe Rousset, Harpsichord, MainArtist
2023 Aparté, a label of Little Tribeca 2023 Aparté / Little Tribeca · Les Talens Lyriques
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Christophe Rousset, Harpsichord, MainArtist
2023 Aparté, a label of Little Tribeca 2023 Aparté / Little Tribeca · Les Talens Lyriques
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Christophe Rousset, Harpsichord, MainArtist
2023 Aparté, a label of Little Tribeca 2023 Aparté / Little Tribeca · Les Talens Lyriques
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Christophe Rousset, Harpsichord, MainArtist
2023 Aparté, a label of Little Tribeca 2023 Aparté / Little Tribeca · Les Talens Lyriques
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Christophe Rousset, Harpsichord, MainArtist
2023 Aparté, a label of Little Tribeca 2023 Aparté / Little Tribeca · Les Talens Lyriques
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Christophe Rousset, Harpsichord, MainArtist
2023 Aparté, a label of Little Tribeca 2023 Aparté / Little Tribeca · Les Talens Lyriques
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Christophe Rousset, Harpsichord, MainArtist - Korneel Bernolet, Harpsichord, MainArtist
2023 Aparté, a label of Little Tribeca 2023 Aparté / Little Tribeca · Les Talens Lyriques
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Christophe Rousset, Harpsichord, MainArtist - Korneel Bernolet, Harpsichord, MainArtist
2023 Aparté, a label of Little Tribeca 2023 Aparté / Little Tribeca · Les Talens Lyriques
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Christophe Rousset, Harpsichord, MainArtist - Korneel Bernolet, Harpsichord, MainArtist
2023 Aparté, a label of Little Tribeca 2023 Aparté / Little Tribeca · Les Talens Lyriques
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Christophe Rousset, Harpsichord, MainArtist - Korneel Bernolet, Harpsichord, MainArtist
2023 Aparté, a label of Little Tribeca 2023 Aparté / Little Tribeca · Les Talens Lyriques
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Christophe Rousset, Harpsichord, MainArtist
2023 Aparté, a label of Little Tribeca 2023 Aparté / Little Tribeca · Les Talens Lyriques
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Christophe Rousset, Harpsichord, MainArtist
2023 Aparté, a label of Little Tribeca 2023 Aparté / Little Tribeca · Les Talens Lyriques
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Christophe Rousset, Harpsichord, MainArtist
2023 Aparté, a label of Little Tribeca 2023 Aparté / Little Tribeca · Les Talens Lyriques
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Christophe Rousset, Harpsichord, MainArtist
2023 Aparté, a label of Little Tribeca 2023 Aparté / Little Tribeca · Les Talens Lyriques
Album review
Bach's Die Kunst der Fuge ("The Art of the Fugue") has been played on the piano and in various ensemble transcriptions, including some for the anachronistic string quartet. Harpsichord versions began to appear in the third quarter of the 20th century as players from the Netherlands, especially, began to explore the instrument's history and capabilities. Early music lovers of the day may recall Gustav Leonhardt's version of the work, released on the Musical Heritage Society label and eagerly awaited in that imprint's monthly mailings. It was scholarly, rather severe, and quite engrossing. This version by keyboardist Christophe Rousset follows Leonhardt in several respects. The fugue sections (called "contrapunctus") are all grouped together, followed by the canons, and there is no effort to reduce the work's forbidding abstract quality. Annotator Gaëtan Naulleau quotes musicologist Charles Rosen to the effect that The Art of the Fugue is "above all, a work to be played for oneself, to be felt under one's fingers as much as listened to." Rousset omits the final unfinished triple fugue, although most performers nowadays try to find a place for it in some way, and he adds a second harpsichordist, Korneel Bernolet, on the two mirror fugues. Rousset's Art of the Fugue is intense and inward, and a rather over-resonant hall at the Hôtel de l'Industrie in Paris is not quite the right place for it. Yet, in some ways, Rousset's reading is friendlier than Leonhardt's and even offers a bit of flair. He plays an unusual instrument, a harpsichord from 1750 held in an unnamed collection. This was (at least supposedly), of course, exactly the year in which Bach worked on this swan song, and the instrument has a muscular sound and gives one the feeling that Bach would have found it ideal. It is powerful, a bit rounded, and in tune with the epic nature of the work without losing its interiority. This is a major statement on The Art of the Fugue, rooted in the past but not really like any other version.
© James Manheim /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 19 track(s)
- Total length: 01:23:02
- 1 Digital booklet
- Main artists: Christophe Rousset
- Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
- Label: Aparté
- Genre: Classical
2023 Aparté, a label of Little Tribeca 2023 Aparté / Little Tribeca · Les Talens Lyriques
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