The fugue, a musical genre that has existed since the Renaissance, reached its peak in the Baroque period thanks to the master of fugues Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). The renowned German composer left us a manuscript to 4 voices without indicating specific entitled “Die Kunst der Fuge” – The Art of Fugue.

This masterpiece, which Bach composed at the end of his life, leaves us perplexed by its perfection and by the musical enigmas of its legacy. A “big task”for Quinta Essentia quartet, which takes as a basis the revelation of the possibilities of a musical instrument that reached its peak in the same period of fugal excellence: the Baroque.

This example by Bach shows us his versatility and creativity in composing 90 minutes of music in D minor, with its mathematical variations, simple fugues, double and triple fugues and mirrored fugues that if the intricacies of this art do not matter to us, when enjoying the music, it is enough just to listen to the endless possibilities of playing with the material of the musical art: the sound.

Would the Art of Fugue have remained an unfinished work, or would Bach have written part of the work, and invited other composers to finish it? What is certain is that he signed the work musically in its final subject making use of musical notes B-A-C-H (in German notation where the “B” correspond to B flat and “H” to the B natural). 270 years later, Quinta Essentia presents this masterpiece on historical instruments.

The Art of Fugue shows Bach’s complete mastery of the most complex form of musical expression within classical music, known as counterpoint, and the complete mastery by Quinta Essentia of the art of making music with recorders.

 

Summary

This masterpiece of the renowned composer Johann Sebastian Bach, composed at the end of his life, leaves us perplexed by its perfection and the musical enigmas of its legacy Would the Art of Fugue have remained an unfinished work, or would Bach have written part of the work and invited other composers to finish it? What is certain is that he signed the work musically in its final subject and 270 years later, Quinta Essentia presents this masterpiece on historical instruments.