Johann Sebastian Bach had written the first clean text of Die Kunst der Fuge already in 1742. In its original version, the cycle consisted of fourteen movements, the arrangement of which differed from the final version. Over the following years, Bach modified the existing movements, changed their order and created further episodes. The cohesion of the cycle was guaranteed by the use of a musical subject common to all the fugues, developed contrapuntally in successive movements. It was only missing from the final movement, which has survived unfinished; that contained three other subjects. It is likely, however, that this was not the final version that Johann Sebastian noted down. The composer’s obituary mentions a sketch in which he had planned to unite all four subjects, so the fourth was probably the one that brought the whole cycle together. The dedication with which Bach revised the successive episodes and ensured their internal unity suggests that he intended to publish the work in print from the outset. It is difficult to say whether he was interested in Die Kunst der Fuge ever being performed, or whether he simply wished it to remain a timeless testament to his school of counterpoint. Bach also did not specify the instrumentation of the work, which allows it to be performed either by solo instruments or by an ensemble, such as a string quartet.
Simply… Philharmonic! Project 1:
The search for perfection in the art of music can have various facets. In the field of solo performance, it is reflected in virtuosity. In the Baroque era, examples of the first manifestations of this phenomenon in flute playing can be found in France, but in the eighteenth century, the most important centres boasting outstanding flautists were the German states.
Performance perfection, however, is not only about solo performance, but also about the ability of the musicians in an ensemble to communicate perfectly. Still today, the string quartet is regarded as the model in the field of chamber music. Although it is mainly associated with a Classical-Romantic pedigree, works for this line-up were already being composed by Alessandro Scarlatti during the Baroque era. He may have been looking to the old masters of the Renaissance madrigal for inspiration, as Scarlatti is known to have held the work of Carlo Gesualdo in high esteem.
Compositional ideals in the art of counterpoint, in turn, were formulated by Johann Sebastian Bach, in his symbolically last work Die Kunst der Fuge, where he showed the multitude of possibilities for contrapuntally elaborating a chosen theme. Thanks to Bach’s efforts to quickly publish the collection, Die Kunst der Fuge became not only a coherent compendium of his achievements in the field of instrumental writing, but also an emblematic culmination of his entire career as a composer.
Daniel Laskowski
