ArtoftheFugue•DieKunstderFugeJohannSebastianBach(1685-1750)BWV1080•1741autographversion

Fugue1,in4voices fugueonthemainsubjectFugue2,in4voices fuguewiththesamesubjectinverted(upsidedownmirrorimage)Fugue3,in4voices fugueonthemainsubject,decoratedwithlong-shortrhythmsFugue4,in4voices counterfugue,inwhichthemainsubjectisansweredbyitsinversionFugue5“alladuodecima,”in4voices doublefugue,introducinganew,fastersubjectalongsidethemainoneFugue6,in4voices doublefugue,withtheinvertedmainsubjectcompressedanddecoratedFugue7“instilofrancese,”in4voices counterfugue,withthemainsubjectrefashionedasaFrenchoverturethemeFugue8“peraugmentationemetdiminutionem,”in4voices counterfugue,withthemainsubjectstretchedandcompressedthreewaysFugue9,in3voices triplefugue,withtwonewsubjects,plustheinvertedmainsubjectsegmentedFugue10,in4voices triplefuguewiththethreesubjectsofFugue9inverted,startingwiththemainoneFugue11“rectusetinversus,”in4voices “mirror”fugueintripletimeplayedtwice:rightside-up,thenupside-downFugue12“rectusetinversus,”in3voices mirrorfugueingiguetimeplayedtwice,thesecondtimeamirrorimageFugue“a3soggetti,”in4voices(incomplete) triplefugue,withthirdsubjectspellingB-A-C-H

TheRecordersofTempestadiMareGwynRoberts,sopranorecorderPriscillaHerreid,altorecorder

HéloïseDegrugillier,tenorrecorderRainerBeckmann,bassrecorder

DieKunstderFuge,orArtoftheFugue,BWV1080,isJohannSebastianBach’smagnumopusonthe topic of fugues and counterpoint, the result of a lifetime obsession with the form. At itssimplest, a fugue consists of a subject (theme), played by each voice in turn until the last isfinished.Travelingmusic thenensues, followedbymorestatementsof thesubject inadifferentkey. Rinse and repeat until you arrive back in the home key. But that’s just the bare bonesminimum,andBachwasanabsolutemasteratelaboratingthings.The fugues thatmakeupBWV1080all include thesamesubject,which isheardclearly inall fourvoices at the start of Fugue 1. In the course of the set, that subject is heard upside down andbackwards,inlongnotesandshortnotes,brokenupintobits,anddottedandtripleted.Itisjoinedbyothersubjectsthatgettheirowncompletetreatment,andbycountersubjectsthatweaveinwiththemainsubject.Entirefuguesareplayedonceandthenturnedupsidedownandplayedagainwithoutbreakinganyrulesofcounterpoint.Itisanincrediblyvirtuosicfeatofintellectualgymnastics.

The fugues are written inscore form, with as manyseparate lines as there arevoices, but noinstrumentation is specified.Byplayingthemonrecorders,we simulate an organ,whereeachlineisplayedonasingle,tunable pipe, with the addedexpressivenessofbreath.InordertoperformArtofthe

Fugue,itisfirstnecessarytodecideonatext.Theworkexistsintwodistinctsources:amanuscriptin Bach’s own handwriting, dating from approximately 1741, and a print published after thecomposer’s death by his son, CPE Bach. The 1741 autograph, which is on deposit at the BerlinStaatsbibliothek,iscarefullycopiedandincludes12fuguesand3canons.Collectionsofworksatthistimetypicallyincludedeither6or12items,sothisconstitutesastandarddoublesetoffugues.Theprintedversionfrom1751alsocontainsasomewhatdifferentsequenceof12numberedfugues,whicharereferred toasContrapunctus I throughXII.But therearemanyother things inhereaswell: additional fugues titled “Contrapunctus” but without any given number, more canons, anunfinishedfugue,acoupleofrearrangementsandincompleteversionsoffuguesthatappearearlierinthevolume,andachoraleharmonizationsupposedlydictatedbyBachonhisdeathbed.Tome,the1751editionlookslikeanassemblageofeverythingfugue-relatedthatCPEBachcouldputhishandsonafterhisfather’sdeath.Althoughthatprintedversioncontainsmorematerial,itistheautographthatseemstomemoredeliberateandfocusedinitscurationandpresentation,sowepresenttonightall12fuguesfromthe1741autograph.Weomitthethreecanons,whichdonotliewellonourinstruments.Bundled inwith theautographat the library,butonseparatepiecesofpaper,areseveralotheritems that were included in the 1751 print, including the famous unfinished Fuguewith threesubjects.ThefactofthaticonicitemappearinginBach’sownclear,pre-illnesshandwritingbeliesthe legend promulgated by his son that the composer died suddenly during its composition.Because it has become iconic of the collection in modern times, we end this concert with it,symbolizingBach’snever-finishedfascinationwithfugue.

—GwynRoberts

Mirrorfugue:thetopthreestavesarethe“original,”thelowerthreeitsreflection.