Die Kunst der Fuge
BWV 1080

Ana Cecília Tavares & Marcelo Fagerlande, two harpsichords

The Art of Fugue is a cycle of 14 fugues and four canons composed by Johann Sebastian Bach and is considered his last masterpiece. The original theme, quite simple, is modified, leading to increasingly complex counterpoint movements. One of the greatest compositional pieces in music history, the Art of the Fugue has been heard in various formations, since the author did not define its instruments. This version presents the Fugues for four voices executed by two harpsichords; the canons, always in two voices, executed by a single harpsichord, and the only fugue in three voices played by a single harpsichord.

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 Augment et Diminut
8. Canon per Augmentationem in Contrario Motu *
9. Canon alla Ottava **
10. Contrapunctus 8. a 3. **
11. Contrapunctus 9. a 4. alla Duodecima
12. Contrapunctus 10. a 4. alla Decima
13. Contrapunctus 11. a 4.
14. Canon alla Decima Contrapunto alla Terza **
15. Canon alla Duodecima in Contrapunto alla Quinta *
16. Contrapunctus inversus a 4.
17. Contrapunctus inversus 12. a 4.
18. Fuga a 2. Clav.
19. Alio modo Fuga a 2. Clav.
20. Fuga a 3 Sogetti [Contrapunctus 14]

* Solo Ana Cecilia Tavares
** Solo Marcelo Fagerlande

Complete recording, in a two harpsichord version
Text by Carlos Alberto Figueiredo

For sale at: www.classicos.com.br

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Other recordings

Appearance on the CD Marisa Rezende – Música de câmara [Chamber Music], on the track Elos, 1995, for solo harpsichord, recorded live at the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe, Germany, in 2000. Música de Câmara Brasileira [Brazilian Chamber Music] Collection, do Laboratório de Acústica Musical e Informática [Laboratory of Musical Acoustics and Computer Science] ECA/USP, 2004.

Appearance on the LP Concerto em Nova Friburgo [Concert in Nova Friburgo], with the Orquestra de Câmara da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro, under the conduction of Lev Markiz, with the piece Três Imagens de Nova Friburgo [Three Images of Nova Friburgo], by Edino Krieger, recorded for the first time. Prefeitura da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro [Rio de Janeiro Town Hall], 1988.

Appearance on the CD Dwitza, by Ed Motta, on the track Madame pela Umburgo. Universal Music, 2001.