3 movements from The Art of Fugue (1737–1749)

Contrapunctus 4

Contrapunctus 6

Contrapunctus 9

There is so much we don’t know about Bach’s Art of Fugue – with the “Goldberg” Variations and the Muscal Offering one of the three monumental works of Bach’s later years –    that a convincing case can be made for a variety of means of presentation. The consensus of opinion is that the composer had the harpsichord (where necessary two harpsichords ) in mind. There is little point, however, in being pedantic about what instruments should or should not be used in the performance of a work with more fundamental problems – such as that it was left incomplete on the composer’s death, that there are no tempo indications and    that the first edition not only printed the various movements in an unsatisfactory order but also included material not intended for it.

One thing we can be certain about is that Bach would not have envisaged    a complete performance of a work all in the same key of D minor, all based on the same theme, and well over an hour in length. So a selection from it is perfectly legitimate and, since only one of the fugues and canons (all of them headed “Contrapunctus”) is in more than four parts, the string quartet is a congenial medium for it. The first of the three pieces to be heard on this occasion, Contrapunctus 4, is a fugue in four parts based on an inversion of the main theme (introduced in the opening bars by first violin). Another fugue in four parts, Contrapunctus 6 is based on the main theme (on cello), its inversion (first violin) and a diminished version, the phrasing articulated in what the score described as stilo franchese – with the dotted rhythms characteristic of the French overture. Contrapunctus 9, a double fugue in four parts, opens (on second violin) with a new theme but then combines it with an augmented version of the main theme (first heard on first violin).