This posting will cover the 'multiple theme' fugues known as Contrapunctus
VIII thru XI. Up to this point, each fugue has had one subject alone.
Many things have been done to this subject such as inversion, augmentation,
and the passing of the one subject among the different voices. But there
has only been one theme to work with. Bach now moves on to fugues where
the original theme is joined with one or two additional contrasting themes
which are applied by Bach to various permutations.
Contrapunctus VIII is a triple fugue; two new themes are added to the
original theme; the three themes are eventually combined. As you might
think, adding additional themes has quite an impact on the number of
potential permutations, and it is fascinating to listen to what Bach does
with these themes. Of course, that's all relatively academic. The
controlling factor is still the artistry and heart within the music, and
the performer's success in discovering that heart and conveying it to the
listener effectively. On to the music.
I see Contrapunctus VIII as having a strong sense of the 'macabre',
mystery, and contrasting passages of sunlight. In the right hands, this
fugue also has quite an infectious rhythm. I should relate that there are
two basic tempos to deal with; the fugue begins with the slower of the two,
while the faster tempo enters with the second theme and prevails through
most of the piece (assuming the performer does increase the speed).
The less rewarding versions come from Fagius, Moroney, the ALSQ,
Phantasm, MacGregor, Alessandrini, and Gould. Fagius is fairly quick and
suface-bound. Although the optimistic passages are well conveyed, there's
only a slight degree of the macabre; also, his rhythm, devoid of any
bounce, is not appealing. Aldwell's reading clearly shows that a
performance low on the macabre can still have strong impact. Moroney is
very slow; this works well initially but soon leads to loss of interest.
There's no such problem for Savall's consort reading which is even slower.
Moroney just does not display sufficient variety. The ALSQ starts off
well, but the playing takes on a droning property largely due to lack of
expressive variety. That's also the issue I have with Phantasm.
MacGregor, along with Gould on organ, gives the fastest performance of
the versions reviewed. Her speed serves her well in the first theme;
once the second theme enters, the reading becomes soft-toned. But there's
worse to come; MacGregor displays some perverse and unmusical decision
making which is hard for me to take seriously. With a fine and fast piano
version like Koroliov's available, there's every reason to dispense with
MacGregor's. Gould is simply not very musical once the second theme
enters. Alessandrini has very different problems. His reading is just for
harpsichord, viola, and bassoon. Aside from my not caring for the bassoon
in this fugue, the harpsichord played by Alessandrini is too recessed.
Initially, I thought it a nice touch, but the lack of projection eventually
bothered me. This is a performance that I don't feel has much going for
it.
Very good performances are given by Aldwell, the Keller Quartett, and
Alain. Aldwell employs moderate tempos and a lovely and seamless legato.
There's plenty of mystery and sunlight; macabre elements are low. My
primary reservation is some note banging in the last half of the fugue.
The Keller Quartet is very expressive, haunting, and joyous at the right
moments; the group's misfortune is having Savall and Hesperion XX as
competition. Alain's misfortune is competition from Koito, but I can't
deny that Alain's majestic entrance at 4'25" into the piece is one
impressive and magical moment.
Superb is the word for Nikolayeva, Savall, Gilbert, Hill, and Koroliov.
As good as Aldwell's legato may be, Nikolayeva's is substantially better,
and her balance of voices is outstanding. Savall's consort reading is
the slowest of the 17 versions; that's no surprise, and neither is the
wonderfully expressive performance provided; just double the good things
I said about the Keller Quartett, and that's where Savall can be located.
Remember the infectious rhythm/bounce I mentioned earlier concerning
Contrapunctus VIII? Gilbert and Hill possess it, have the macabre element
in good supply, and are thoroughly illuminating. Koroliov is fast and
angry in the first theme, and he wants us all to know it; he spends the
remainder of the fugue telling us his story. It is an outstanding
interpretation.
Kei Koito must be better than superb. For this fugue, she completely
eschews the overbearing, relentless, and unmusical style that has dominated
her performances up to this point. Now her musicality is at a high level,
joy profound, macabre sensations abound, the rhythm outstanding - it would
be great if she keeps this up for the rest of the work. I have my doubts.
I don't know if there's anything better than 'superb', but I'm placing
Leonhardt there anyways. I'd trade in the six wonderful performances I
reviewed for one Leonhardt. 'Macabre' and 'rhythm' are the key ingredients
for this reading. Leonhardt is like a bulldozer plowing his way toward the
finish line. Also, one can really hear everything that's going on - each
permutation is clearly displayed. That's saying something given a recorded
sound which is hardly ideal. He provides a foundation to the music which
the other performers don't come close to reaching (some don't even try).
And the bounce he gives the music is easily the best I've encountered.
Contrapunctus IX is a double fugue of short duration (2 to 3 minute range)
and quick tempo. Inversion at the twelfth interval and a strong dose of
augmentation form the foundation for this fugue. Glenn Gould likes it so
much that he performs both an organ and a piano version.
Among the organ versions, Alain and Fagius are appropriately mecurial and
of average tempo. With Gould, new vistas open up. He is majestic, uses a
delightful staccato, and employs a bounce and rhythm that's irresistable.
This is Gould at his best. Koito has the distinction of expanding the
music to almost four minutes, but her reading is less enjoyable than Alain
or Fagius for other reasons: a big and unattractive sound coupled with
some clumsy phrasing.
Koroliov gives one of the fastest and most mecurial readings without
losing any musicality. MacGregor is just as quick, but her lack of
complete technical command yields some awkwardness and stilted phrasing.
Nikolayeva, of average tempo, is very emphatic and mesmerizing. Aldwell is
also emphatic but with less variety of expression than Nikolayeva. Gould's
staccato approach on piano works wonderfully, and his technical mastery is
impressive; forward momentum is supreme.
Moving on to the harpsichord versions, Moroney and Hill have much to
offer, but they sound a little leaden to me; Hill engages consistently
in supplying hesitations which I find dampens my enjoyment. Leonhardt
is faster and provides a momentum equal to Gould's piano version.
Gilbert's harpsichord sounds so good, the crispness and clarity of
Outstanding quality. His is easily the best version to examine the
working of Bach's mind.
On multiple instruments, Savall's consort reading is haunting and incisive.
Phantasm is very quick with a sharp sound; I find their performance more
concerned with virtuosity than expression. The Keller Quartet is much
smoother than Phantasm but too soft-toned for excellent expressiveness.
The ALSQ's recorders pierce their way through the music; I lowered the
volume but found the reading busy and pesty. Their speed is fast, and
I feel that a slower tempo would have better served their performance.
Alessandrini's reading is a fine one, but Savall is the pick of this
grouping.
Summing up, Contrapunctus IX is given excellent performances from Savall,
Leonhardt, Nikolyaeva, Koroliov, and Gould on piano. From the start, I
could tell that Gould on organ and Gilbert would be special listening
experiences. Gould takes the music into a different world of majesty,
vitality, and love of life. Gilbert has much vitality, but it's his
opening up of Bach's architecture which is so rewarding.
Contrapunctus X is another double fugue where the two themes combine at
the tenth interval. This fugue takes us back to very serious music with
occasional rays of supreme light. After listening to each version a few
times, Hans Fagius does not make the first cut. He is loud and heavy with
an unattractive rhythm; this fugue has sufficient weight on its own without
piling it on from the performer, especially in an unattractive manner.
Although better than Fagius, I didn't want to listen any further to the
Keller Quartett or Phantasm. They are quick, a little over four minutes.
With the greater speed comes less weight and interpretations which are not
as incisive as many other versions. Alessandrini well shows that a fast
tempo can possess great weight with his consort-type reading. Savall's
consort performance is left behind for different reasons. His performance
is slow with abundant weight; however, expressiveness is very narrow and
interest can wane.
Moving up, The ALSQ provides a lovely performance with a fairly constant
volume level that tends to reduce the music's potential expressiveness.
Joanna MacGregor is also very lovely and dream-like but very soft in
tone; variety is significantly sacrificed. Edward Aldwell's version
is excellent. He varies volume and expressive content much better than
MacGregor while maintaining the music's beauty. Koroliov's piano version
isn't quite up to Aldwell's level; I feel Koroliov's hands get too heavy at
times.
Robert Hill's performance is also excellent; however, listening to
Kenneth Gilbert or Davitt Moroney reveals that Hill is a little deficient
in projecting each voice crisply. Alain is very slow and majestic, a big
improvement over Fagius. However, I would have preferred a greater level
of forward momentum for such a slow tempo, the type of momentum that a
Leonhardt often assumes. Speaking of Leonhardt, his performance doesn't
quite have the usual momentum he projects. Kei Koito sounds great with
excellent voice projection and a high level of expressiveness.
Alessandrini and his Concerto Italiano, although quick, have an abundance
of weight and variety of expressiveness; they are slightly light-hearted
for my tastes.
Outstanding performances are provided by Gilbert, Moroney, and Nikolayeva.
Mystery and variety are the key ingredients in Nikolayeva's reading; she
also delivers the most complete level of joy possible. Gilbert is on
the quick side with superb momentum; his delivery is sharp, precise, and
thoroughly incisive. He is more austere than most other versions, but the
light emerges in a subtle and satisfying fashion. Moroney isn't austere,
he conveys an urgency which is always ready to take flight. There's even
urgency in his most uplifting passages as well. I end up amazed at how
completely Moroney has done this while maintaining decorum. In addition,
the incipient joy of the music is superbly displayed. Technically, Gilbert
is more enlightening, but Moroney has the expressive edge. Moroney also
has my vote as best version. I almost forgot to mention that Gould's disc
has no Contrapunctus X on piano or organ.
Update on Joanna MacGregor - I have been very disappointed in her
performances, having had very favorable memories before starting this
survey. As with so many recordings, her set sounds excellent on its own.
However, immediate comparisons reveal a softness to her playing which,
while attractive and often lovely, is rather one-dimensional and obviously
disregards the more animated and stronger elements of the fugues. Given
her style of playing and the sound acoustic, it isn't easy to follow
all of Bach's counterpoint and permutations; it's probably impossible.
nikolyaeva's readings clearly show that the piano, without engaging
in any key-banging, can deliver incisive and highly interesting/varied
performances. MacGregor's set reminds me a little of the best that you can
get from a piano lounge environment or a New Age source. I don't say this
with disrespect; there's much to be said for excellence from those sources.
I just think that Bach's composition offers so much more than that, and
MacGregor really doesn't give much of it.
Contrapunctus XI is a triple fugue and the last of the eleven traditional
fugues. This fugue takes the three themes of Contrapunctus VIII and
basically inverts them with the result being six themes. Many consider
Contrapunctus XI the most complex of the traditional fugues, and it is
certainly one of the longest and most demonstratively mysterious and eerie
fugues in the set. The danger for performers to avoid is to not allow the
music to take on excessive weight and a sense of total disorder which, in
combination, might make the fugue an unpleasant listening experience.
Gould, on piano, provides a wonderful first theme, but it's downhill
from there. When urgency and power are called, Gould is relentlessly
loud and rather unmusical. The same applies to Kei Koito; majestic in the
first theme, she is largely ear-splitting thereafter. Lowering the volume
does provide some relief, but then the music loses its impact. Savall's
string and brass reading is much better but lacks horizontal variety;
interpretations of this type need a great deal of forward momentum, and
Savall provides little of that. By contrast, Alessandrini's consort-type
performance has that horizontal variety and fine forward momentum.
The ALSQ is much too light and whimsical; the haunting quality that's
needed from their style is often lacking, and incisiveness is very low.
I have mixed feelings about Koroliov's reading. It's very quick and
sometimes enlightening, but often it is simply loud with note-banging
tendencies and minimal lyricism. The Keller Quartett starts off
beautifully but soon degenerates into one fast episode followed by an even
faster one; toward the conclusion, exaggerated chords totally kill off the
performance.
Leonhardt's performance is very good but less rewarding than his previous
ten fugues. As usual, his momentum is strong, but it is not compelling.
Also, lyricism is on the low end.
Excellent performances are given by Alain, Aldwell, Alessandrini, Moroney,
and Hill. Alain's version is the next to slowest of the group, but her
expressive variety keeps the music interesting. Unlike with Koito, Alain
does not steer toward bombast. Aldwell is highly expressive with fine
diversity; this is a reading which is superb until Aldwell engages in a
penchant for note-banging. Alessandrini gives a highly diverse and
enjoyable performance in consort mode, but it all sounds like a series of
unrelated episodes; he also pales in comparison to Phantasm. Moroney would
have been one of the best readings but he loses his way and gets stuck in
a monotonous and somewhat strident groove in the second half. Hill is very
rewarding, but I sense a less than thorough absorption in the music.
MacGregor's performance is the slowest at over ten minutes. There's no
dragging at all as she displays excellent expressive variety. It's a
lovely performance, but not sedate at all.
Just as Moroney's urgency in Contrapunctus X is irresistable, that's the
situation with Gilbert in this triple fugue. The level of urgency and
tension keeps building up, and Gilbert releases it so sparingly and at the
right moments. Also, Gilbert allows the listener to examine every musical
strand and development. His isn't a surround-sound recording, but he makes
me feel that incisive swashes of sound are penetrating me from all
directions. There's magic in this one.
Hans Fagius is also magical with a totally majestic reading conveying
a macabre/gothic atmosphere that I love. This is the best music that
Halloween could offer, and I'm a big fan of Halloween. Fagius takes me
to the underside of the universe.
Nikolayeva delivers the version for 'all seasons'. It has everything in
abundance that the other wonderful performances have, and she separates
each element and spits them out at just the right times. I get the
sensation that Nikolayeva is the ring master of this fugue. There's so
much variety, and she brings it all out in a seamless manner.
Speaking of seamless performances, Phantasm's magical interpretation of
great mystery thrives on seamless playing. Every episode is tied in to the
ones before and after. Tempo increases sound natural and even inevitable.
This is Phantasm at its best.
summary on Edward Aldwell - With Contrapunctus XI, Aldwell concludes
his contributions to the Art of Fugue. I do not consider this one of
his better Bach achievements. Aldwell has built up an avid following
of admirers through a style of playing built on seamless and somewhat
dream-like performances of depth and beauty. He does not consistently
use this approach in his Art of Fugue, often becoming hard and even harsh.
It's a good recording, but I can only give it a qualified recommendation.
Concerning just piano versions, with Nikolayeva's and Koroliov's being
available, the Aldwell disc becomes somewhat superfluous.
Don Satz
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