The Art of Fugue

Started by The Mad Hatter, May 23, 2007, 12:37:26 AM

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Opus106

#160
Quote from: Antoine Marchand on April 03, 2011, 08:29:28 AM
I think this is another one (also played on harpsichord), although it was recorded in 2008:



Yep. Two on piano; the AAMB's version on HM, and a DVD (with artsy visuals) with der(?) MAK performing.
Regards,
Navneeth

Antoine Marchand

Quote from: Opus106 on April 03, 2011, 08:55:05 AM
Yep. Two on piano; the AAMB's version on HM, and a DVD (with artsy visuals) with der(?) MAK performing.

... after all the Goldbergs deserved to have a rest.  ;)

Opus106

Quote from: Antoine Marchand on April 03, 2011, 09:17:40 AM
... after all the Goldbergs deserved to have a rest.  ;)

Oh, they wish that.

;D
Regards,
Navneeth

springrite

Quote from: Antoine Marchand on April 03, 2011, 09:17:40 AM
... after all the Goldbergs deserved to have a rest.  ;)

Calling off a banquet after a few appitizers having been served? Nah!
Do what I must do, and let what must happen happen.

premont

Quote from: Antoine Marchand on April 03, 2011, 08:29:28 AM
I think this is another one (also played on harpsichord), although it was recorded in 2008:


Another harpsichordist whose playing is scholary and  committed, if a little more temperamental than Dirksen. Bonizzoni is Italian after all. Even he "constructs" his own version, which in short contains the Contrapuncti more or less - not completely consequential - in the sequence of the manuscript from 1742, but played in the posthumous printed (by Bach emended) version. So this is more of a kind of abstraction than it is a restoring. One consequence is that he omits Contrapunctus IV. Though the incomplete Fuga a 3 soggetti is offered as an appendix.
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Antoine Marchand

Quote from: springrite on April 03, 2011, 09:31:28 AM
Calling off a banquet after a few appitizers having been served? Nah!

That's right; additionally, those works are an irresistible dish that every harpsichordist wants to have in his repertoire.  :)

Marc

Quote from: Ten thumbs on March 24, 2011, 02:56:54 PM
I find the main difficulty with this work is the lack of an ending. If Bach had been able to complete it we would know what the music was driving towards and that is always a great help in understanding a musical process.

I tend to see the Contrupuncti I-XI as a 'reliable' corpus.
To me, Contrapunctus XI is definitely one of the highlights of the piece and therefore acceptable as a closure.

The rest (mirror fugues, canons, final fugue) are bonuses to me.
Very impressive and enjoyable bonuses of course! :)

premont

Quote from: Marc on April 03, 2011, 11:48:53 AM
I tend to see the Contrupuncti I-XI as a 'reliable' corpus.
To me, Contrapunctus XI is definitely one of the highlights of the piece and therefore acceptable as a closure.

Seconded, and it is interesting to note, that the Bach-subject has got an important role in Comtrapunctus XI as well.
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Mandryka

I've been enjoying Menno van Delft a lot! It's so composed and tranquil and elegant, and somehow pure and simple.

And yet, despite this it is emotionally rich.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

premont

Quote from: Mandryka on April 05, 2011, 11:32:29 PM
I've been enjoying Menno van Delft a lot! It's so composed and tranquil and elegant, and somehow pure and simple.

And yet, despite this it is emotionally rich.

He is often forgotten, because his playing in a way is so unsensational. But I share your opinion, and exactly for the reasons you mention his interpretation is one of my faves, which grow on me with each listening.

I use to call this the Dutch way, since many Dutch keyboard players (even organists) play more or less in this way. (Koopman is the exception which confirms the rule)
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Antoine Marchand

Quote from: premont on April 06, 2011, 01:28:07 AM
I use to call this the Dutch way, since many Dutch keyboard players (even organists) play more or less in this way. (Koopman is the exception which confirms the rule)

That's totally true about Koopman as a keyboardist (which was the subject of your statement), but curiously Koopman abandones almost all his eccentricities when he is conducting a chorus (although, for sure, he makes a lot of weird faces). 

Mandryka

Someone gave me a few weeks ago Leonhardt's first AoF on Vanguard. It's clearly a major achievement, and I'm  enjoying getting to know it. The harpsichord doesn't always sound so good, maybe.

I see he recorded it a second time, for DHM. How does this later recording compare? What would I be getting if I buy the later recording -- just better sound, or some new and interesting ideas?
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

premont

Quote from: Mandryka on May 01, 2011, 11:20:34 PM
Someone gave me a few weeks ago Leonhardt's first AoF on Vanguard. It's clearly a major achievement, and I'm  enjoying getting to know it. The harpsichord doesn't always sound so good, maybe.

I see he recorded it a second time, for DHM. How does this later recording compare? What would I be getting if I buy the later recording -- just better sound, or some new and interesting ideas?

Excuse me my late answer.

While I find Leonhardt´s 1952 recording for Vanguard (on a non-period Neupert harpsichord) deliberate, legato-dominated and rather understated as to exoression, his later recording for DHM is more energetic and rhytmically alert and more extrovert and exiting. I think this is close to  how I believe Bach may have played himself. Thought provoking though that our  ~Que~  does not like him.  IMO Leonhardt´s second recording is mandatory. (It omits the unfinished Fugue á 3 soggetti).
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Que

#173
Quote from: premont on May 07, 2011, 07:10:31 AM
I think this is close to  how I believe Bach may have played himself. Thought provoking though that our  ~Que~  does not like him.

Does not prefer him, would be more accurately put! :) Of course I like Leonhardt and hold him in high esteem. But I think we've discussed Leonhardt in extenso before. I agree BTW that Leonhardt moved along with the development in period performances towards a more free, rhythmically varied and pronounced style. Still, others took over and where he left off and moved even further in that direction. I like performances with the contrast and tension between those two things

Whether some of his successors too far and Leonhardt found the right equitable balance is a matter of taste IMO. At least in my mind Bach's own style was besides being intellectually profound and that of a highly gifted musical scholar, also that of a brilliant virtuoso who liked exploring the limits of his abilities and of the instruments (or singers) he wrote for.

Q :)

premont

Quote from: ~ Que ~ on May 07, 2011, 08:56:52 AM
At least in my mind Bach's own style was besides being intellectually profound and that of a highly gifted musical scholar, also that of a brilliant virtuoso who liked exploring the limits of his abilities ..

In my mind this also fits as a perfect description of Leonhardt.  :)

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Mandryka

#175
Quote from: premont on May 07, 2011, 07:10:31 AM
Excuse me my late answer.

While I find Leonhardt´s 1952 recording for Vanguard (on a non-period Neupert harpsichord) deliberate, legato-dominated and rather understated as to exoression, his later recording for DHM is more energetic and rhytmically alert and more extrovert and exiting. I think this is close to  how I believe Bach may have played himself. Thought provoking though that our  ~Que~  does not like him.  IMO Leonhardt´s second recording is mandatory. (It omits the unfinished Fugue á 3 soggetti).

I have the recording now and I've listened to just one thing quite a few times over the past few days: the canon at the tenth.

Compared with the 1952, the later recording is more articulated, more energetic, more alert, more extravert, more exciting, more ornamented.

And yet, I love the 1954 canon at the tenth. It makes me go slightly damp eyed sometimes when I hear it: the simple, un-ornamented style, played with such flexibility, moves me. 

Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

premont

Quote from: Mandryka on May 08, 2011, 01:00:25 PM
And yet, I love the 1954 canon at the tenth. It makes me go slightly damp eyed sometimes when I hear it: the simple, un-ornamented style, played with such flexibility, moves me.
So do I,-  indeed the entire 1952 recording. I think Leonhardt plays the work with great awe, as if he only recently discovered its depths -  and maybe this is also so.
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Opus106



3 CD + CD-ROM Multibox

J.S. Bach’s great masterpiece, The Art of Fugue, was incomplete when the composer died in 1750, and he left no indications whatsoever for its instrumentation. Since then there has been much debate on the subject, but we now know that it was written as a practical work intended for keyboard performance exploring the contrapuntal possibilities within one subject.

Bach also adopted the same compositional notational method for the beautiful and profound organ cycle Canonic Variations on the Christmas Carol and the brilliant six-voice Musical Offering, created for King Frederick II of Prussia, which are also heard in this 4-CD set. Also included is the fragment of the incomplete three part final fugue BWV1080/19, whose inclusion in The Art of Fugue is disputed amongst music scholars.

The renowned Italian harpsichordist, organist and musical scholar, Matteo Messori, has won awards for his recordings of Bach. Messori has gone back to original sources and letters relating to these works, and taken account of the most up-todate research and interpretative knowledge, in order to reveal Bach’s true intentions for his music, and to give as authentic a performance as possible. Messori performs on the harpsichord and organ, and is joined by Italian early music ensemble Cappella Augustana, featuring Luigi Mario Lupo (transverse flute), Luca Giardini (violin), and Marco Testori (cello).
Regards,
Navneeth

Marc

Quote from: Opus106 on May 15, 2011, 10:31:21 AM


3 CD + CD-ROM Multibox
[....]
The renowned Italian harpsichordist, organist and musical scholar, Matteo Messori, has won awards for his recordings of Bach. Messori has gone back to original sources and letters relating to these works, and taken account of the most up-todate research and interpretative knowledge, in order to reveal Bach's true intentions for his music, and to give as authentic a performance as possible. Messori performs on the harpsichord and organ, and is joined by Italian early music ensemble Cappella Augustana, featuring Luigi Mario Lupo (transverse flute), Luca Giardini (violin), and Marco Testori (cello).


It's a bargain indeed, but to be honest I wasn't really impressed by other Bach stuff from Messori, i.c. the Clavier-Übung III (also on Brilliant Classics). Beautiful organs, but IMHO most of the pieces were too 'heavily' interpreted.

premont

Quote from: Opus106 on May 15, 2011, 10:31:21 AM


Thanks for this information. I almost thought that Brilliant Classics had skipped their plans to release it.
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