Bach: The Art of Fugue / Gustav Leonhardt, Kenneth Gilbert, Davitt Moroney
In his later years, Bach became even more absorbed in “counterpoint” than before, composing in a short period of time the “Musical Offering” of 1747 and the Canonic Variations for organ “Vom Himmel hoch da komm’ ich her”. I have written that the technique of canon Bach displayed in the “Golberg Variations” of 1741 is a true “miracle” in music. The Art of Fugue which is a compilation of fugues and canons, was written around the same time, and was continually worked on until the end of his life, when it was finally published as an unfinished work. In my opinion, I think the highlight of this collection is the “Contrapunctus inversus 12 a 4 (forma inversa and recta)” and “Contrapunctus inversus 13 a 3 ( forma recta and inversa )” a fugue in two pairs of four pieces. This piece, in which each voice is completely turned in upside down and yet calculated to perfectly conform to the musical rules, is nothing short of a “miracle”. In Gustav Leonhardt’s 1969 recording, the three-voice fugue No. 13 (rectus and inversus) is performed on two harpsichords (arranged by Bach himself). The second CD is by Canadian cembalist Kenneth Gilbert, who performs the entire piece, including the above three-voice “Contrapunkctus 13” with only two hands. On the other hand, Davitt Moroney, who studied with Leonhardt and Gilbert, plays the entire piece with two hands, as does Gilbert, and also adds a basic theme to the unfinished part of the final “Unfinished Fugue” in an attempt to complete it into a quadruple fugue. #baroque #bach #canon #fugue #片山俊幸
