After the four 'simple' fugues are three 'stretto' or 'counter' fugues
known as Contrapunctus V, VI, and VII.  These stretto fugues are more
complicated than the simple ones and involve inversion, diminution (twice
as fast), and augmentation (twice as slow).  Contrapunctus V displays
the direct and inverted theme, VI adds diminution, and VII also has
augmentation; therefore, the complexity of the music continues to grows.

Contrapunctus V exhibits the subject in counterpoint with itself at
distances of one-half bar, full bar, and one and one-half bars.  The
music is very uplifiting, poignant, and of moderate tempo.

Aldwell's version of Contrapunctus V is a relatively somber and
introspective one; a hard sadness is very prevalent.  It starts off
beautifully with fine mystery, but the reading soon sounds austere without
much lift to it.  I enjoy Aldwell here very much, but there is a missing
element.  Listen to Robert Hill and hear the pure optimism in his reading;
Aldwell doesn't have it covered and also does not replace it with a viable
alternative.

Hans Fagius is quick and starts off in a powerful fashion but then settles
into a less demonstrative mode.  I find his reading of a fairly high
quality with some muddy sound and moderately effective uplifting passages;
this is a somewhat generic performance.  I would have preferred that Fagius
take a stronger direction.

Kei Koito provides a full and powerful sound.  No matter, the performance
is a messy one and rather unmusical, monotonous, and relentless - a
disposable performance which Fagius easily surpasses.

Marie-Claire Alain is very slow and austere.  It's not one of the more
optimistic readings, but it is emotionally rich.  I place Alain at
Aldwell's level.

Gould, on organ, performs well.  He gives a quick, bouncy, and thoroughly
optimistic interpretation.  I'm afraid I think of it as a Bach "Lite"
performance, although certainly in the upper rung of that category.

Rinaldo Alessandrini employs a variety of instruments which has the
advantage of highlighting the counterpoint and stretti.  My reservation
is that the juxtaposition of one instrument against another does not
always sound idiomatic to my ears - the matches are not close to perfect.
Phantasm plays fast and in a somewhat cavalier manner.  The reading is not
haunting or particularly uplifting, nor as good as Alessandrini.  Also, if
a stringed version with speed is wanted, the Keller Quartett gives much
more expressiveness and meaning to the music.

These are the versions I consider excellent: Kenneth Gilbert gives a
performance of serious intent with a fine level of optimism; it's a
thorougly enjoyable and interesting reading.  The ALSQ recorder version is
quite haunting with outstanding optimism and subtle joy.  Joanna MacGregor
give the "dream" performance of the group; hers is reading which takes me
to the land of tender enchantment with its soft shades and prevalent
legato.  Tatiana Nikolayeva is mad and resolved to vent; it's a very
distinctive reading short on joy.  Evgeni Koroliov uses a staccato approach
and fast tempo which work wonderfully; this reading has forward momentum in
abundance.

The outstanding versions are from Moroney, Leonhardt, Hill, Savall,
and the Keller Quartett.  Leonhardt fully invests his reading with
aristocracy, seriousness of purpose, and an inexorable quality.  At
the same time, the pure joy in his performance is infectious.  Moroney
is about perfect; his blend of austerity and joy is masterful.  Hill's
interpretation is fascinating.  No version is more joyous than his, but
what makes his version special is what he does before any optimism enters
into the fugue.  He provides the first minute of music with an anticipation
of the joy coming up without revealing it at all.  I don't know how he does
this, but his relatively 'bright' sound must help.  Savall starts off with
a consort approach which is haunting and mesmerizing; then the brass enter
and the performance takes on heroic proportions.  The Keller Quartett's
quick reading is the most poignant of those reviewed; the counterpoint is
superb.

Contrapunctus VI is the first fugue to use diminution and is highly
ceremonial in the manner of a French overture with its dotted rhythms and
flourishes.  This is very interesting music which can handle a wide variety
of interpretations.  By *interesting*, I mean that it is enjoyable simply
on the basis of its structure, and detail is the crucial element in
allowing Bach's structure to come through to the listener.  The work
also has wonderful melodic phrases and passages.

None of the 17 versions is less than rewarding.  Joanna MacGregor takes a
relatively serene approach; her detail is admirable, her poetry excellent,
her tempo about average.  I would have preferred more strength to her
interpretation.  Koito provides an organ version which some might consider
to constitute "a lot of noise"; I can't deny there's some merit in that
view, but she has strong insights about the music.  Also, there are
passages where the majesty of her performance can not be bettered.  The
Keller Quartett is highly detailed.  I feel that their quick performance
is well short of excellence based on a low degree of variety of expression;
I had trouble maintaining interest.  Switch to Nikolayeva and I think it's
clear that she gives a variety of expression which leaves the Keller
Quartett at the gate.  Phantasm's performance is similar to the Keller
in terms of tempo and relative lightness of mood, but they are more
interesting and varied.  Robert Hill's version is very enjoyable, but he
does not convey the wealth of expression that I get from Moroney or
Gilbert.

The excellent performances come from Gilbert, Leonhardt, Aldwell, and
Alain.  It's interesting to note than Leonhardt often applies a 'galloping'
pace; I'm not entirely won over by the approach, but his interpretation
has the usual incisiveness and depth that's been consistent up to this
point.  Gilbert is a little less rich sounding and uplifting than Moroney.
Aldwell's is a serious interpretation with superb highlighting of the
music's heroic elements and optimism.  Alain starts off in such an austere,
harsh, and somewhat unmusical fashion.  Then, the optimism, just at the
right point, enters one's bloodstream; the contrast is wonderful.

Moroney, Nikolayeva, Koroliov, Gould, and Fagius give outstanding
performances.  Moroney essentially provides a role-model reading which
perfectly blends austerity with optimism.  Nikolayeva is ever so slow,
exquisitely detailed, and conveys an emotional range second to none.  Hers
is also the most poignant version of those reviewed.  Koroliov is just as
slow and effective as Nikolayeva; he is more focused on the destination
while Nikolayeva always takes in the local scenery.  Gould, on organ, takes
the heroic approach superbly and also displays a great deal of expressive
variety including tenderness and joy.  Fagius gives us a quick reading with
a rhythmic pulse that is irresistabe to me; he also delivers such a supreme
optimism that I can't get it out of my head.

More outstanding performances come from Alessandrini, the ALSQ, and
Savall.  Alessandrini's multiple instrument account is stunning in the
detail and interaction of the oboes/bassoon with the strings.  It is a
haunting interpretation of great depth.  The ALSQ is the most effectively
uplifting version of those reviewed; right from the start, there is a glow
and optimism which never quits as the movement progresses.  Majesty and
melancholy are the key ingredients of Savall's consort reading; then, when
the uplifting passages arrive, they are so effective in contrast to the
melancholy.  Savall's slow paced reading is much more rewarding than
Phantasm's lighter and quicker consort performance.

Contrapunctus VII is even more interesting than VI in that it uses
augmentation in addition to diminution and inversion.  The music is not as
demonstratively uplifiting as in Contrapunctus VI; subtlety of expression
is the key to conveying the optimism to the listener.  In fact, my
perception is that this fugue's emotional pallete is harder to convey that
most of the other fugues.  The performers need to dig deeply into the music
and carry its themes to the surface.  If not done well, the music can drone
on and on.  And that's what happens with a few of the versions reviewed.

The ALSQ is in this "droning on" category.  They do not provide fine
characterization, and those recorders keep going at it; this is a surface
reading.  Gould, on organ, reveals a much wider and deeper emotional
richness, and his is not even one of the best versions.  Koito has an
entirely different set of problems.  Her textures have all the clarity of
mud; it isn't easy to get a handle on either the technical or emotional
aspects of her performance; it's like walking through a thick glaze.  This
has been a major problem of Koito's performances up to this point, and her
Contrapunctus VII is an excellent example.  She's often too thick, loud,
and unmusical.

Alessandrini has generally provided the greatest variety of
instrumentation and it has had the advantage of highlighting what each
voice is doing.  In this fugue, there's a flute, oboe, viola, bassoon,
cello, harpsichord, violin, etc.  That makes for a large degree of variety.
But - the performance conveys so much less detail than would be expected.
To some degree, it's because I feel the right instruments are not playing
at the right moments.  Also, Alessandrini and friends don't strike at the
heart of music's core.  Savall and company give another very slow
performance which strikes me as being closer to a funeral dirge than an
examination of human spirit.  From my perspective, it just never takes off.

Fagius is neither demonstrative nor subtle; his detail is decent, his
speed average.  This is the all-purpose performance sure to elicit moderate
enjoyment but nothing more.  Fagius does not dig deeply at all.  Now that
I think of it, all-purpose has sort of been the foundation for Fagius up
to this point.  Good feelings from this approach can only last so long.
Switch to Gilbert and a very real "personality" emerges from the opening
bars (he sounds real good).

Alain's performance employs a fast tempo which seems to fly at times
without perfect symmetry.  Effective in spots, I don't sense that the
reading hangs together very well.  Aldwell is significantly faster than
Alain; he's racing throughout the fugue.  It sounds as if he's desperate
to unload the music as quickly as possible; I don't like his interpretation
at all although I admire his risk taking.  MacGregor is as fast as Aldwell,
but softer in tone.  Not as extreme as Aldwell, her results are better with
some effective optimism revealed.  However, she's much too demure and fast
to provide an excellent reading.

A very good version comes from Moroney.  This is the first time I've not
considered a performance of his to be excellent or even better.  What holds
him back is some choppy phrasing and ineffectively expressive optimism.
Turn to Robert Hill and listen to phrasing which makes his reading much
more urgent than Moroney's and more uplifting as well.

Kenneth Gilbert provides an excellent reading with good pacing and
phrasing, highly effective projection of optimism, and great detail of
voices.  My sole reservation is that I think his style of interpretation
would have been more rewarding with a higher level of austerity.  Phantasm
is in top form with a swaying and smooth as silk flow that doesn't quit;
their variety of expression is outstanding.  the Keller Quartett is fairly
similar to Phantasm but with stronger projection and more angularity.
Nikolayeva's reading has legato playing as its foundation.  I think it
works wonderfully; her quick reading only lacks some strength toward the
beginning of the movement.

I'm glad to report that there are four special performances.  Urgency and
yearning permeate Hill's interpretation.  His voice detail is great and
I've not heard a more uplifting version.  In Hill's hands, I'm climbing a
majestic peak, always aware than I can meet the challenge and doing just
that.

Leonhardt gives a typically outstanding reading: slow, aristocratic,
inexorable, and austere with an uplifting aura of subtle proportion.  The
man is always focused on reaching his destination; nothing gets in his way
since he is indestructable.

Another Gould organ performance and it's a great one, quick and loaded with
staccato.  His rhythm is the best I'm aware of, the ceremony is pervasive,
and I can't keep still when listening.  For an organ performance, the
detail of voices is amazing.  It's all Gould.

Koroliov delivers more variety of expression that I would have thought
possible from this fugue; it's a transcendent accomplishment.  If anyone
thinks that the movement contains a lack of breadth, Koroliov will cure
that misconception in a hurry.  He fills up every fiber of my being; this
is all magic and the best performance of Contrapunctus VII.  You have to
hear this piece of heaven.

It's been great listening to these three stretto/counter fugues.  Along
with the first four fugues, I feel that I'm privy to the making of a
majestic work of art.  The music doesn't just keep going; it's on vertical
lift.  And the performances have enhanced the whole experience.  It's more
than the fact that artists such as Leonhardt and Koroliov always are
wonderful; every version has provided me with new insights.

Update on Organ Versions - It hasn't pleased me that none of the organ
versions are near the top level, and I've been thinking about this.  In my
humble opinion, organ sound is not, other things equal, advantageous for a
composition which has a strong need for detail and clarity.  At the other
end, the majesty of the organ can be transcendent, particularly in heroic
music or music which the artist makes heroic such as Gould's Contrapunctus
VII.  I think it's a challenge for the performer.  Gould is handling it
very well, Alain and Fagius have had varying degrees of success, and Koito
hasn't met the test except in Contrapunctus III and VI.

Part 3 will cover the four remaining traditional fugues.  Just a reminder
that Aldwell "bugs-out" after Contrapunctus XI and moves on to Bach's
French Overture.  He's been doing well, but he has his moments where he
plays in styles which are not his "bread and butter" with Bach.  When
Aldwell totally eschews his strengths of poetry, dreams, and a flow of
silk, he's in unchartered territories.  It just could be that the Art of
Fugue is not the best vehicle for Aldwell.  At the same time, I could do a
lot worse than listen to Aldwell's AOF; his Contrapunctus II, III, IV, and
VI are highly memorable.

Don Satz
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