BACH: Die Kunst der Fuge – New Century Saxophone Quartet Channel Classics

When discussing the possibility of recording J.S. Bach’s “Die Kunst der Fuge” (The Art of Fugue, BWV1080) with those in and outside the classical music world, the question of playing this great masterwork onsaxophones invariably arises early in the conversation! After all, the saxophone was not even invented untilnearly 100 years after Bach’s death. However, there are two interesting points which should allay any concernsas to the appropriateness of the music of Bach to the saxophone. First, Bach, who was known to be aman of precision regarding instrumentation and other musical issues, did not indicate any instrumentation for”The Art of Fugue.” Neither did his son C.P.E. Bach, to whom he dictated this, his final work. Second, thesaxophone quartet is the only modern chamber ensemble designed as a true consort. The entire family, fromsopranino to contrabass was conceived by its maker, Adolphe Sax, as an extension of a single acousticdesign, uniform and complementary throughout the range. Thus the soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophonesrepresent a pure consort, more consistent in tone color from top to bottom than the brass or woodwindquintet, and even the string quartet.
It was in fact a member of one of the world’s most well known string quartets who convinced NCSQ tolook at this music, leading eventually to this recording. In 1994 the New Century Saxophone Quartet andthe Julliard String Quartet performed in Los Angeles’ Ambassador Auditorium on consecutive nights. In abackstage conversation, the Juilliard’s cellist, Joel Krosnick, suggested that New Century explore “The Art of Fugue,” feeling it might be a good match for the sonority of a saxophone quartet. This was not the firsttime the quartet had heard this. Five years earlier, in 1989, Philip Dunigan, the well known flutist and teacherat the North Carolina School of the Arts, had also encouraged the quartet to play “The Art of Fugue,” howeverit took the advice of a second great musician, Krosnick, to get the Quartet to overcome it’s natural hesitation to take on this challenge.

01. The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus I 4:09
02. The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus II 2:47
03. The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus III 2:46
04. The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus IV 4:38
05. The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus V 2:31
06. The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080: Canon alla duodecima in contrapunto alla quinta 4:04
07. The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080: Canon alla decima contrapunto alla terza 5:10
08. The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus VII a 4 per augmentationem et diminutionem 2:17
09. The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus VIII a 3 6:38
10. The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus X a 4 alla decima 3:52
11. The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus VI a 4 in stylo francese 3:12
12. The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus IX a 4 alla duodecima 2:25
13. The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus XI a 4 5:46
14. The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080: Canon per augmentationem in contrario motu 6:18
15. The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080: Canon alla ottava 2:40
16. The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus inversus XIII a 3. Forma inversa 2:05
17. The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus inversus XIII a 3. Forma recta 2:08
18. The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080: Fuga a 3 soggetti 9:38
19. The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080: Choral “Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten”, BWV 668a (Canto fermo in canto) 4:30