Bach
's
Die Kunst der Fuge
("
The Art of the Fugue
") has been played on the piano and in various ensemble transcriptions, including some for the anachronistic string quartet. Harpsichord versions began to appear in the third quarter of the 20th century as players from the Netherlands, especially, began to explore the instrument's history and capabilities. Early music lovers of the day may recall
Gustav Leonhardt
's version of the work, released on the
Musical Heritage Society
label and eagerly awaited in that imprint's monthly mailings. It was scholarly, rather severe, and quite engrossing. This version by keyboardist
Christophe Rousset
follows
Leonhardt
in several respects. The fugue sections (called "contrapunctus") are all grouped together, followed by the canons, and there is no effort to reduce the work's forbidding abstract quality. Annotator
Gaëtan Naulleau
quotes musicologist
Charles Rosen
to the effect that
is "above all, a work to be played for oneself, to be felt under one's fingers as much as listened to."
Rousset
omits the final unfinished triple fugue, although most performers nowadays try to find a place for it in some way, and he adds a second harpsichordist,
Korneel Bernolet
, on the two mirror fugues.
Art of the Fugue
is intense and inward, and a rather over-resonant hall at the Hôtel de l'Industrie in Paris is not quite the right place for it. Yet, in some ways,
's reading is friendlier than
's and even offers a bit of flair. He plays an unusual instrument, a harpsichord from 1750 held in an unnamed collection. This was (at least supposedly), of course, exactly the year in which
worked on this swan song, and the instrument has a muscular sound and gives one the feeling that
would have found it ideal. It is powerful, a bit rounded, and in tune with the epic nature of the work without losing its interiority. This is a major statement on
, rooted in the past but not really like any other version. ~ James Manheim