BACH'S ART OF FUGUE


Johann Sebastian Bach‘s counterpoint cycle The Art of Fugue is an extraordinary work, even within the body of work of such a prolifically productive composer. It continues to adhere to the Renaissance artistic ideal: it is not the subject matter in itself, serving mainly as a vehicle for the application of numerous compositional subtleties, but its skillful treatment that determines the stature of the work and its composer.

A composer long acknowledged and admired, at the height of his creative achievement, takes on a challenge that would occupy him for nearly a decade. He seeks to demonstrate how infinitely many possibilities are inherent even in a form subject to strict musical laws such as the fugue (whether simple, double, or triple; in mirror form; with inversion, augmentation, or diminution ) as well as in the related form of the canon. To perceive and employ these possibilities, however, requires nothing less than a master of the art. At the same time, this also serves to meet the reguirements of a scholarly society, the Correspondierenden Sozietät der musicalischen Wissenschaften (Corresponding Society of Musical Sciences), founded by his influential pupil Lorenz Christoph Mizler, of which Bach became a member three years before his death. With a similar intention, Beethoven would compose his Diabelli Variations seven decades later, the 24th variation of which is a homage to Bach. He, too, wished to assert his special status, though by that time, it hardly needed further proof.

Art, it is commonly said, comes from skill, indeed necessity. Why, then, is it still worthwhile today to engage with such a distinct work, in an era in which musical style has undergone fundamental change, especially if one is not a composer and cannot immerse oneself in it to the extent Nina Stoelting has done? Great works of art have the power to transform people, their self-image, their perception and their self-understanding, exerting an influence beyond the realm of art – and one is tempted to say that this is more important than ever as a counterpoint to the prevailing Zeitgeist, which is often far removed from it. The Art of Fugue places the highest intellectual demands: first and foremost on its musical interpreters, which is why the cycle is very rarely performed in concert. Out of deep respect for Bach, Sir András Schiff waited until he was 70 before performing the cycle publicly for the first time, after decades of intense engagement with it. We are now in the fortunate position that he has made it a central focus of his repertoire and performs it regularly.

Bach could scarcely have anticipated that the cycle, born of compositional and theoretical ambition, would ever find its way into musical practice. In view of its comparatively limited performance history to date, the work is now poised – almost three centuries after its creation – to achieve not only broader public recognition, but also greater influence.
Sir András Schiff‘s current ‘reflection’ on The Art of Fugue is having an effect. Nina Stoelting, who has long been engaged with music and has, above all, translated string quartets into visual worlds, has confronted the artistic challenge within her own discipline of making the individuality and depth of the 14 fugues perceptible in images. May this be a contribution to gradually learning to comprehend a cycle whose complexity grants us access only in fragments and certainly not at first glance. Great art demands the utmost commitment – also from the listener or viewer. And not least in this lies the value it can hold for us mere mortals – provided we are willing to rise to the challenge.

Dr. Michael Ladenburger