Bach: The Art of Fugue / Duo Stephanie & Saar

$32.99
Label
New Focus Recordings
Release Date
June 2, 2017
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      BACH, J.S.
    • ORCHESTRA / ENSEMBLE
      Duo Stephanie & Saar
    • PERFORMER
      DUO STEPHANIE & SAAR
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      June 02, 2017
    • UPC
      747565635086
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      FCR181
    • LABEL
      New Focus Recordings
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      2
    • GENRE
      Classical
    Works ⌄

    1. Contrapunctus I

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Ensemble: DUO Stephanie & Saar

    2. Contrapunctus II

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Ensemble: DUO Stephanie & Saar

    3. Contrapunctus III

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Ensemble: DUO Stephanie & Saar

    4. Contrapunctus IV

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Ensemble: DUO Stephanie & Saar

    5. Contrapunctus V

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Ensemble: DUO Stephanie & Saar

    6. Contrapunctus VI a 4 in Stylo Francese

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Ensemble: DUO Stephanie & Saar

    7. Contrapunctus VII a 4 per Augmentationem et Diminutionem

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Ensemble: DUO Stephanie & Saar

    8. Contrapunctus VIII a 3

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Ensemble: DUO Stephanie & Saar

    9. Contrapunctus IX a 4 alla Duodecima

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Ensemble: DUO Stephanie & Saar

    10. Contrapunctus X a 4 alla Decima

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Ensemble: DUO Stephanie & Saar

    11. Contrapunctus XI a 4

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Ensemble: DUO Stephanie & Saar

    12. Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of Fugue), BWV 1080: Contrapunctus inversus XII a 4, forma recta (arr. for 2 pianos)

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Ensemble: DUO Stephanie & Saar

    13. Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of Fugue), BWV 1080: Canon II, alla Ottava

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Saar Ahuvia

    14. Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of Fugue), BWV 1080: Contrapunctus inversus XII a 4, forma inversa (arr. for 2 pianos)

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Ensemble: DUO Stephanie & Saar

    15. Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of Fugue), BWV 1080: Canon III, alla Decima in Contrapunto alla Terza

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Stephanie Ho

    16. Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of Fugue), BWV 1080: Contrapunctus inversus XIII a 3, forma recta (arr. for 2 pianos)

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Ensemble: DUO Stephanie & Saar

    17. Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of Fugue), BWV 1080: Canon IV, alla Duodecima in Contrapunto alla Quinta

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Saar Ahuvia

    18. Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of Fugue), BWV 1080: Contrapunctus inversus XIII a 3, forma inversa (arr. for 2 pianos)

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Ensemble: DUO Stephanie & Saar

    19. Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of Fugue), BWV 1080: Fuga a 3 Soggetti (Contrapunctus XIV) (arr. for piano 4 hands)

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Ensemble: DUO Stephanie & Saar

    20. Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of Fugue), BWV 1080: Canon I, per Augmentationem in Contrario Motu

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Stephanie Ho


DUO Stephanie & Saar’s third release on New Focus Recordings, The Art of Fugue, is the first ever complete piano duo recording of Johann Sebastian Bach’s final enigmatic work. The duo performs the work’s different movements as either four-hand, two piano or solo piano works. Bach never specified the instrumentation of the work and this new version is a kaleidoscope of textures and colors, a probing journey that seeks answers and illumination. Dated 1748, some scholars see The Art of Fugue as an academic endeavor by an aging master paying tribute to the fugue, which was by then falling out of fashion. Others consider the work as a sort of “Da Vinci Code” of numerology, puzzles and musical coding. The mystery of Contrapunctus 14, notable for both the inclusion of Bach’s name as a theme and for its unfinished state adds to the mythology and cult status that surrounds the work.Bach found fugues to be a source of endless creativity. The Art of Fugue, a collection of fourteen fugues and four canons, is an exploration of the full spectrum of contrapuntal possibilities, all derived from one monolithic theme in D minor. From a purely technical standpoint, Bach’s compositional prowess is in full display as he employs inversion, retrograde, augmentation, diminution, multiple fugue subjects, mirroring and canonic writing- all while creating an intense and emotionally gripping musical experience. Bach was a deeply devout Lutheran, and while Th Art of Fugue has no direct religious connotations, the work’s reverence for “musical math” and the severity of the techniques used are in line with Bach’s devotional output. Bach’s need to exhaust as many possibilities of permutations from one theme is in essence a quest to find meaning, an unending spiritual journey reaching towards the divine.