The Art of Fugue (or The Art of the Fugue, original German: Die Kunst der Fuge), BWV 1080, is a supposedly incomplete work by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). It was most likely started at the beginning of the 1740s, if not earlier. The first known surviving version, which contained 12 fugues and 2 canons, was copied by the composer in 1745. This manuscript has a slightly different title, added afterwards by his son-in-law Johann Christoph Altnickol: Die Kunst der Fuga. Bach's second version was published in 1751 after his death. It contains 14 fugues and 4 canons.
Each of the 14 fugues except the final one uses the same deceptively simple subject in D minor:
"The governing idea of the work", as the Bach specialist Christoph Wolff put it, is "an exploration in depth of the contrapuntal possibilities inherent in a single musical subject." Pianist Angela Hewitt (noted for her performances of Bach's oeuvre) says of The Art of Fugue that "it makes Goldberg Variations look like child's play".
Read more about The Art Of Fugue: Structure, Sources of The Work, Instrumentation, The Unfinished Fugue, A Pythagorean Enigma, Films About The Art of Fugue, Notable Recordings
Famous quotes containing the words art and/or fugue:
“Blow, blow, thou winter wind!
Thou art not so unkind
As man’s ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“The worst constructed play is a Bach fugue when compared to life.”
—Helen Hayes (1900–1993)