Die Kunst der Fuga, Collegium Musicum ’23
This album came in just on the heels of my writing about the use of original instruments as part of HIPP and after a recording of Pachelbel on the piano. Bach’s ultimate work, at least in the context of the original BWV catalog, is an odd work for its instrumentation was not given. Recordings on piano, harpsichord, organ, and in various ensemble configurations exist. Among those that use a string ensemble, notably a quartet or duet, depending upon the movement, this release from Les Recreations was incredibly satisfying. I was excited to see another, this time from Collegium Musicum 23.
While I’d like to talk about this release on purely performance-based criteria, it’s impossible to not confront the obvious appeal of this release because of the instruments used. We know, for instance, that Johann Sebastian Bach owned a Stainer violin. He was the maker of choice in Germany, especially so with Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber. The musicians of CM23 had the extraordinary opportunity to play on instruments owned by the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, instruments procured by Johann Sebastian Bach. While the instruments were modified since Bach’s time, with no interest in keeping them in their original condition, they have been recently restored to baroque configuration, allowing us, at least in this album, to hear the very instruments that would have been used in Bach’s church life. The violins and viola were made by Johann Christian Hoffmann in 1729. The liner notes provide a fascinating account of the instruments, and those interested in both HIPP and the provenance of older instruments may find this album intriguing from this angle alone.
The album opens and closes, however, with the sound of a period organ. It’s now been revived within a village church in Störmthal, an instrument that Bach played. The opening is a Bach chorale from BWV 75; the closing track is a rendition of the additional piece C.P.E. Bach appended to the publication of the Art of Fugue in 1751: Vor deinen Thron tret’ich hiermit. I can’t say why exactly an organ was used like this for the album. Of course, these pieces could have been played by the strings, just as well as the contrapuncti could have been played on the organ. From a programming point of view, it may have been interesting to combine these two instruments (strings and organ) more, but for purists, the core piece known as BWV 1080 is played here by strings. Period strings, at that.
Sound
While I have admired certain instruments from time to time in recordings, I’ve never heard Hoffmann’s instruments to my knowledge and I have no clue about how well-regarded his instruments were regarded in Bach’s time. That said, CM23 make some beautiful sounds with these instruments. One cello used, to be precise, is not made by Hoffmann, and comes from a private collection. Again, I applaud this production for all the research on the instrumentarium.
Not only do the instruments sound very nice, the acoustic seems ideal, the size of the room enhancing the resonance of the instruments. The recording makes us feel, at least revealed on my two-channel system, as if I’m in the room with the musicians. I have a feeling about the size of the room. The level of details that are preserved with regard to bow articulation and dynamics are perfect.
Interpretation
This piece, when played (or listened to) all at once, can be tedious. It’s all in D minor and of course Bach doesn’t really give us any strong indication to vary the tempo. The chosen tempos by CM23 all seem intelligently selected and support the music well. For instance, in the sixth contrapunctus, in stylo francese we get a nice separation in the rhythm. While not played slowly, it’s played just fast enough to not feel hurried. The players each give one another space, maintaining independence of the lines, without in particular emphasis to highlight one over the other.
When it comes to providing that interest, character, if you will, to one movement in contrast to another, the CM23 fall short of injecting too much affective flavor into their playing. It’s not bland, which was my ultimate feeling the recent recording by Phantasm had me feeling. But I think one’s approach has to be conceptually focused. Are they feeling they are betraying a keyboard piece by bringing too much distinction to their playing as independent players? Or do you embrace this as a string piece?
From an historical perspective, I think CM23 does well to play sensitively, with dynamics most easily heard in the violin parts. The 1984 recording made by Musica Antiqua Köln, a favorite of mine, combined strings with harpsichord. The string playing was approached differently, with each player, I think, acting more as an independent voice. In this way, they played their line with a bit more character, and the result of the ensemble doing this, I think, made for an interesting musical result. To be sure, it would have been impossible to recreate this kind of playing on an organ or harpsichord alone.
There was also more independence audible in the aforementioned recording by Les Recreations. That said, even though subtle, I really am digging the violin playing by Nadja Zwiener, for how she swells with some of the longer notes. From everything I understand this practice is an historical solution, but it sounds so good on the instrument she’s playing. It’s one of the highlights of this album, to listen to that top line. My only wish is that we’d have gotten more of that from the cello part.
The eighth contrapunctus is a favorite of mine; here CM23 play some of the ornamentation a bit differently than other recordings, which works well, and I like the alternative way of hearing these. Another favorite is the ninth contrapunctus, which among all the movements is the “fast” one. It’s a double fugue, with the triumphant entrance of the original theme in long notes while the faster ones continue to evolve underneath. This seems made for strings.
I compared C. 9 between the recording by Les Recreations and the CM23. The reverb in the first recording wasn’t as attractive as the tighter sound with CM23. I also appreciated the sense of articulation from CM23’s playing, with a little more space to form phrasings. The first recording still has a lot more character injected by the performers which I so much enjoyed, but in terms of transparency and clarity, the CM23 I found were superior, at least in this movement, which is played at nearly equal speed.
It’s difficult to not experience an emotional weight in the rendition of the final movement of this work, the so-called fugue with three subjects. It’s impossible to say that I’d hear such profound depth in this piece if it didn’t hold a place as Bach’s last, unfinished work. While scholarship into Bach’s life has us today disputing the message left with the work’s publication, having us believe that Bach died while trying to finish composing this work, the tragedy, perhaps, is that it was left unfinished for us. CM23 follows other ensembles in playing it this way, unfinished, although as of late, performers have taken to try and complete the piece as well. I’m a fan of both approaches. If I were recording this, I think I’d try both, giving the listener an option to experience it both ways.
Les Recreations take two more minutes to play this final fugue compared to CM23. Both have austere beginnings, but it’s clear to me that CM23 is not trying hard to infuse their performance with the emotional weight I mentioned. Given the piece in context during Bach’s lifetime, there wouldn’t have been an impetus to try and stretch the piece with external meaning. Here I’m biased. I do like this contrapunctus to open slowly and to luxuriate in the vertical, harmonic sequences, feeling those resolutions of suspensions. CM23 just goes a hair too fast for my own taste.
They also try and keep the whole movement going at the same tempo; many ensembles will take the natural sections and vary it, but I appreciate their consistency. It’s in this movement, perhaps, that I’m most bummed that they didn’t do more to play more expressively. They do not do anything special, keeping in character, to punctuate the entrance of the B-A-C-H theme. The apply a slight ritardando in the trailing, unfinished figure.
Final Thoughts
I always want to highlight a performer’s or group’s consistency. I think it’s a hallmark of fine musicianmanship. These performers stick to their guns, providing a consistent approach to this music throughout the recording. I’d go so far to say while they do not get stuck in their style sounding like a viol consort, they also don’t fully exploit the expressive potential of their italiante instruments. Which is where we have to decide how to approach this music. The reason viol ensembles pick up this music, which clearly isn’t the way Bach would have ever envisioned it being played, it speaks to his backward-looking approach to this music. His legacy—and this music—was outdated as soon as his ink dried. His sons were not writing in this style. So there’s something to be said in providing a more solemn and serious approach to this music.
As mentioned, the gift of hearing instruments from Bach’s own sound world, and hearing them so realistically and transparently captured is a nod of gratitude to the producers, musicians, and sound engineers making this recording.
My personal taste does lean toward expressive playing, and I think Bach’s Die Kunst der Fuga should be played with all the rhetorical power we can give it. When played on string instruments, there’s an opportunity to exploit their power to do so. While I think the recordings by Musica Antiqua and Les Recreations approach this within an historical framework, I can’t dismiss the alternative presentation here as providing a viable contrast to my taste.
Wherein my rating for the recording by Les Recreations has more to do with the performer’s expressive approach, here, I have to apply the same rating, if not for extreme expressivity, for the recording’s gorgeous sound and the musicians’ consistent approach.
N.B. The organ used on this recording has an interesting character and sounds delicious; I look forward to more recordings using it. For those, who like me admire Nadja Zwiener's playing, she and Johannes Lang already made an excellent album together that I previously reviewed.
