Bach: The Art of Fugue / Musical Offering

Johann Sebastian Bach (Composer), Neville Marriner (Conductor), Christopher Hogwood (Performer), Andrew Davis (Performer), Sir Andrew Davis (Performer), Nicholas Kraemer (Performer), Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Christopher Hogwood, Andrew Davis, Sir Andrew Davis, Nicholas Kraemer
• Orchestra: Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields
• Conductor: Neville Marriner
• Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
• Audio CD (October 17, 1994)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Philips
• ASIN: B0000041A6
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #59,988 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #36 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Fugues
  • #37 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Improvisation

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An early masterpiece of the baroque revival, January 18, 2000

By 

M. Friedman (New York Area) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bach: The Art of Fugue / Musical Offering (Audio CD)

It was the music on this disc -- originally available as separate boxed sets of vinyl records -- along with ASMF's Brandenburgs that really sparked my interest in baroque music in general, and Bach in particular. Though, 30 years later, the performance sounds a little dark, slow and dense to ears accustomed to airier historically-informed performances, it nevertheless has a richness and warmth that you simply won't hear on any other recording of these two works.

This is absolute music, composed without any specific instrument in mind. The Offereing and the Art of Fugue have been equally successfully performed on the organ, harpsichord, piano, and by string ensemble. The ASMF succeeds in presenting them in ALL of these contexts, except the piano.

The performance is first-rate, if a little reserved.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars repetition, glorious repetition, December 30, 2006

By 

David A. Baer (Indianapolis, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Bach: The Art of Fugue / Musical Offering (Audio CD)

An acquaintance of mine once overheard the sound of Bach emanating from my computer, grimaced slightly, and said 'it's repetition'.

Precisely. Though she thought she was making a criticism.

J.S. Bach explored creation via the medium of music. In overturning and resettling the soil given to him by musical convention and his own fecund mind, he understood himself to be exploring the possibilities of God's good earth.

He produced no more repetitious works than the Art of Fugue and Musical Offering. But ah, the glory!

Because Bach was not specific about the instrumentation he desired for one or both of these works, Sir Neville Mariner and the Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Field, those always trustworthy custodians of all things baroque, give us this fine recording of a number of combinations of strings as well as of organ and harpsichord.

These are not pieces for random listening. One needs to sit and soak in the seemingly endless creative moves that Bach could make with just a few themes. It is endlessly repetitious and ceaselessly fascinating, perhaps a bit like love itself. Indeed it is almost entrancing.

In fact Bach *was* loving several objects as he exercised his masterful, musical intuition. He was loving God, for at the end of each manuscript he penned the initials 'S.D.G' ('Soli Deo Gloria' = 'To God alone be the glory'). He was loving the very creation he was exploring. And, professional considerations notwithstanding, he was loving those sympathetic listeners who for centuries would find themselves amazed at his craft.

'The Craft of the Fugue', after all, is arguably the better translation of 'Die Kunst der Fuge' than the more conventional 'The Art of Fugue', though at any rate Bach's craft was that of an artisan who also happened to understand the constituent elements of his craftsmanship with exceeding guile.

As one listens to this magnificent music, it is possible to believe - one must almost say to glimpse the reality - that God is his heaven, that this good earth is indeed a beautiful thing, and that sympathy on the part of the listener moves one a step or two towards conviction on these counts.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Only the tape quality keeps this from a '5', September 21, 2001

By 

Mark Lee (Woodruff, UT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bach: The Art of Fugue / Musical Offering (Audio CD)

This CD set comes from some tapes recorded during the '70s, and the audiophile will quickly hear this. In spite of this hiccup, the depth of the performances are striking.

In his last years, J.S. Bach wrote much of his music for the sheer joy of creating mathematically delightful pieces, hence the endless variations and inversions of the themes from "Art of the Fugue" and "Musical Offering." Some evidence suggests that J.S.B. didn't care too much whether or not the music was, in fact, performed. I think he would be struck by this performance, especially, of the 6-part ricercar - one of the most complex and repeatedly listenable compositions ever put to paper by man.

This is not necessarily a collection of music that bears constant listening to from start to finish as if it were a number of movements of a larger piece. Pick and chose your diamonds from the drawer, and leave a few for another day.