Main menu
Fretplay home Submit tabs

Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach tabs Johann Sebastian Bach discography

Channels
Guitar channel Bass channel Guitar videos Reviews

Message Forum
Guitar forum Bass forum Bands and artists Promote your band Recent discussions All categories

Fretplay.com

Johann Sebastian Bach guitar tabs

CD reviews

Bach: The Art of Fugue

Johann Sebastian Bach - Bach: The Art of Fugue Audio CD

A fair review of the Johann Sebastian Bach "Bach: The Art of Fugue" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Johann Sebastian Bach reviews here, or go back to the Johann Sebastian Bach tabs.

Band: Johann Sebastian Bach
Title: Bach: The Art of Fugue
Rating:

Release Date: 2003-08-12
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of the Fugue), for keyboard (or other instruments), BWV 1080: Contrapunctus I 2: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of the Fugue), for keyboard (or other instruments), BWV 1080: Contrapunctus II 3: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of the Fugue), for keyboard (or other instruments), BWV 1080: Contrapunctus III 4: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of the Fugue), for keyboard (or other instruments), BWV 1080: Contrapunctus IV 5: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of the Fugue), for keyboard (or other instruments), BWV 1080: Contrapunctus V 6: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of the Fugue), for keyboard (or other instruments), BWV 1080: Contrapunctus VI, a 4, in Stylo Francese 7: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of the Fugue), for keyboard (or other instruments), BWV 1080: Contrapunctus VII, a 4, per Augmentationem 8: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of the Fugue), for keyboard (or other instruments), BWV 1080: Contrapunctus VIII, a 3 9: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of the Fugue), for keyboard (or other instruments), BWV 1080: Contrapunctus IX, a 4, alla Duodecima 10: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of the Fugue), for keyboard (or other instruments), BWV 1080: Contrapunctus X, a 4, alla Decima 11: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of the Fugue), for keyboard (or other instruments), BWV 1080: Contrapunctus XI, a 4 12: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of the Fugue), for keyboard (or other instruments), BWV 1080: Canon per Augmentationem in Contrario Motu 13: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of the Fugue), for keyboard (or other instruments), BWV 1080: Contrapunctus XII, a 4. Rectus 14: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of the Fugue), for keyboard (or other instruments), BWV 1080: Contrapunctus XII, a 4. Inversus 15: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of the Fugue), for keyboard (or other instruments), BWV 1080: Canon alla Ottava (15) 16: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of the Fugue), for keyboard (or other instruments), BWV 1080: Canon alla Decima in Contrapuncto alla Terz 17: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of the Fugue), for keyboard (or other instruments), BWV 1080: Canon alla Duodecima in Contrapuncto alla Q 18: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of the Fugue), for keyboard (or other instruments), BWV 1080: Contrapunctus XIII, a3. Rectus 19: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of the Fugue), for keyboard (or other instruments), BWV 1080: Contrapunctus XIII, a3. Inversus 20: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of the Fugue), for keyboard (or other instruments), BWV 1080: Canon per Augmentationem in Contrario Motu 21: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of the Fugue), for keyboard (or other instruments), BWV 1080: Contrapunctus XIV (18) (Fragment of quadrup 22: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of the Fugue), for keyboard (or other instruments), BWV 1080: Chorale: "Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit

Not an Unpleasant Sound from the Emerson Fiddlers...
. . and certainly more musical than any straight-through performance on piano, or harpsichord for that matter. There's no reason at all to treat the 22 items of Die Kunst der Fuge as a straight-through concert composition; Bach would surely have been flabbergasted at such an event. Rather, he seems to have intended this, his last work, as a testament of his musical thought and theory. In any performance, with any instrumentation, this is a cerebral sort of music. The pleasure of listening comes from listening closely and following the development. Not that it isn't beautiful! It is, but the beauty shimmers on the surface of the structural craftsmanship.

I respect the Emerson Quartet enormously. Their forthcoming (May 19th) CD of the two quartets by Leos Janacek, which I've heard in advance, should be a blockbuster. Their Haydn recordings are among my favorites. And there's nothing shabby about this interpretation of Bach, though it seems at times a little too opaque and dense. It's not close to my favorite recording of The Art of Fugue, however, and not because of historical purism. I very much prefer the performance by the Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet on recorders of various sizes, chiefly at eight-foot pitch. Even with the limited dynamics of a recorder quartet, the ALSQ players seem to 'hear' deeper and clarify more. My favorite version of all is that of Musical Antiqua K�ln, with Reinhard Goebel on violin, recorded in 1984, but available on Archive 'Masters' now. MAK mixes instruments, performing some of the contrapuncti on harpsichord, some on two harpsichords, some as a quartet of strings, some with strings and keyboard. The variety of instrumentation certainly makes the full seventy-six minutes performance more enjoyable, but the intense fugal independence of the voices, especially of the violas, in the MAK performance makes the music more vivid to my ears.

Jet Age Fugues
Their extremely streamlined sound works very well sometimes, othertimes not. The Emerson Quartet are the last word is modern, slick string quartet groups. Their recording are usually worth a listen, and usually rank high with the Gramophone, Penguin & BBC critics, but I often find I enjoy other quartets more in given works, and have often traded in for different versions. Too often, they're just too slick. In this case, that slickness works in just the right way.
My other string quartet version is a magnificent one by The Juilliard Quartet, their approach being completely different from the present set. The Juilliard perform this work, solemnly, deeply, and slowly, as if played in a cloister, or the medieval room at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It seems as if they've tried to make their quartet have the aural identity of a combo of viols (which is another good choice for this work, see the album by Fretwork, or parts of Jordi Savall's conception). If you're in the right frame of mind, and see this work as primarily a communion with the higher power, or a last throwback to the days of Sainte Columbe and Marin Marais, it would be hard to top this. I think one of this quartets best records.

In comparison, The Emersons provide a soundtrack for an art deco streamlined railway journey. . . their tempos are consistantly faster, with more sprite in their steps. The work certainly is EASIER to listen to this way, especially complete in one sitting. Their blend is smooth, they play wonderfully, but do lack the gravitas brought to the room by The Juilliards, or The Delme Quartet on Hyperion (in an edition prepared by Robert Simpson). But since this is a rather difficult work, and repetitive, The speed of the group gets to the point of each matter, choosing not to dwell on man's place in the universe, but to present a great piece of music for all to ENJOY! I would ultimately offer The Emersons as a first choice for newcomers to the work (although an orchestral transcription, by say Nevill Marriner & ASMF, might be the best intro, since the reputation of this, Bach's last work, is daunting), and to be listened to before getting to The Juilliards (recorded in 1987, released in '92 on cd). But both records are really excellent! .

My favourite piece of classical music (so far)
I cannot compare skill of conductors, or the various pros and cons of the different renditions of one piece of music. Bach: The Art of Fugue I know very little about classical music (unlike other reviewers who have posted about this recording).

I can, however, tell you that this is a fantastic piece of music! I'm very glad I decided to investigate classical music; and Bach in particular. He is now my favourite composer.

About this piece, though. It is restrained, beautiful and very elegant. There is nothing bad I can say about this particular interpretation; the choice of instruments and arrangement was fantastic. I have heard this fugue performed with piano, but I'd definitely prefer the varied and multi-dimensional texture of the strings. There is so much depth, it is achingly beautiful. I should add that when I bought this, I did not even know what a fugue was. Don't hold that against me! I have since done some research.

Anyhow, this is wonderful. If you are particularly knowledgeable about classical music, I think you will like this. If you are not, I think you will still like it as much as I do. It is a bittersweet masterpiece.

When it's good... Say so.
I have a number of Emerson String Quartet CD's and hardly listen to them as I think their playing often lacks soul and they can sound like they're competing with each other. I've been critical of these guys before so I feel it's only fair to say this is a great recording. For Bach's 'Art of Fuge' this is the one I come back to. The recording is near perfect - you can differentiate each instrument and (in my opinion) it's the best the E. S. Q. has ever sounded. .

Very, Very good!
Just listen this record and get your own opinion. Emerson Quartet did an excelent job! Don't give too much important of the words.

My opinion is: Very, Very good!.

You can see a complete list of all Johann Sebastian Bach discography, or go back to the Johann Sebastian Bach tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.