The Art of Fugue
It is not without reason that the musical journey of the Leopoldinum Orchestra includes a title that directly refers to Bach’s Kunst der Fuge. However, the Art of Fugue is understood here much more broadly, because Bach became for Leopoldinum only the starting point for the presentation of subsequent compositions, written (with the exception of Purcell’s works) in much later times, but referring in their form to Bach’s fugues. So let’s go on a journey with fugue through the ages!
The Art of Fugue
It is not without reason that the musical journey of the Leopoldinum Orchestra includes a title that directly refers to Bach’s Kunst der Fuge. However, the Art of Fugue is understood here much more broadly, because Bach became for Leopoldinum only the starting point for the presentation of subsequent compositions, written (with the exception of Purcell’s works) in much later times, but referring in their form to Bach’s fugues. So let’s go on a journey with fugue through the ages!
Album premiere: 2011
Publishers: National Forum of Music, CD Accord
Conductor: Ernst Kovacic
Performers: NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra
The compositions on this album recreate the fascinating and beautiful path followed by composers of two centuries using the fugue form. By the beginning of the 18th century, the contrapuntal proficiency required by this form was already – mainly due to Johann Sebastian Bach – fully developed and mature. Even today, mastering this art is an important element of a composer’s toolbox and is taught at universities and colleges. If we realise how much expectations towards composers have changed over the course of history, we should consider it natural that these changes are also visible in the circumstances in which composers used the fugue form.
Ernst Kovacic
