鈴木優人 大鍵琴

Masaaki Suzuki performs Bach's ultimate masterpiece

The Art of Fugue emerges as the central instrumental project of the last decade of Bach's life, after a gradual development over several years: the exploration in depth and with an overflowing musical imagination of the contrapuntal possibilities inherent in a single musical subject. In this work, the theoretical component of Bach's thinking is at its clearest: theory and practice merge, old and new stylistic elements and compositional techniques are integrated and demonstrate in an incomparable way his individual approach to composition. Since Bach gave no indication of the instrument, nor does his writing shed any further light on the subject, one might even wonder whether this work is a purely theoretical work, intended solely for musical analysis. However, since the composer's rediscovery in the nineteenth century, musicians have appropriated the work, whatever their instrument. It is now generally accepted that the work was composed for the keyboard. A second harpsichord part is added for three fugues, played here by Masato Suzuki. After several acclaimed recordings of Bach's works for keyboard instruments, Masaaki Suzuki finally takes on this immense work, the pinnacle of the cantor's art and one of the absolute peaks of Western music.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685—1750)
Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080
DISC 1 Playing time: 52''16
1) Contrapunctus 1
2) Contrapunctus 2
3) Contrapunctus 3
4) Contrapunctus 4
5) Contrapunctus 5
6) Contrapunctus 6 a 4 in Stylo Francese
7) Contrapunctus 7 a 4 per Augmentationem et Diminutionem
8) Contrapunctus 8 a 34
9) Contrapunctus 9 a 4 alla Duodecima
10) Contrapunctus 10 a 4 alla Decima
11) Contrapunctus 11 a 4

DISC 2 Playing time: 45''18
1—2) Contrapunctus inversus 12 a 4*
3—4) Contrapunctus inversus a 3*
5) Canon alla Ottava
6) Canon alla Decima in Contrapuncto alla Terza
7) Canon alla Duodecima in Contrapuncto alla quinta
8) Canon per Augmentationem in Contrario Motu
9—10) Fuga inversa a 2 Clavicembali*
11) Fuga a 3 Soggetti
12) Choral: Wenn wir in hochsten Noten sein, BWV 668a

Masaaki Suzuki harpsichord
TT: 97''34