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Sergio & Maddalena Vartolo - Johann Sebastian Bach: The Art of Fugue (Die Kunst der Fuge), BWV 1080 (2009) 2CDs

Posted By: Designol
Sergio & Maddalena Vartolo - Johann Sebastian Bach: The Art of Fugue (Die Kunst der Fuge), BWV 1080 (2009) 2CDs

Sergio & Maddalena Vartolo - J.S. Bach: The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080 (2009) 2CDs
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 645 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 235 Mb | Artwork included
Genre: Classical | Label: Naxos | # 8.570577-78 | Time: 01:42:09

Though unfinished at his death, Johann Sebastian Bach’s The Art of Fugue is both his musical last testament and a cornerstone of Western composition. At once a miracle of intellectual achievement, musical invention, technical challenges and emotional power, The Art of Fugue draws on all of Bach’s resources as a master of counterpoint. It is here performed, as the composer apparently intended, on harpsichord, by Sergio Vartolo who uses his own recently-published facsimile edition of the autograph score, and of the engraved first edition (1751/1752).

Some recordings deserve high praise, some deserve faint praise, and some earn their fair share of ridicule. Then there is the category of those that earn your respect over time, if you have the stamina to hang in. Bach’s The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080, usually considered an intellectually “dry” work, as played on the harpsichord by Sergio Vartolo (with Maddalena Vartolo on the final two pieces for two harpsichords), won me over after a struggle. The first time through, I experienced a rash of negative judgments: the tempo was too slow, the beat was too regular, the dynamic range was too narrow (only from p to f , while the piano could cover from ppp to fff ), the soloist is an academic (and you know how they are), and there was no exhilaration by acceleration. Everything was too risk free, too free of passion. I was under the spell of the modern piano readings of Bach’s music. But after putting these discs aside for about a week, I asked myself: “If the disc is all that, why did Naxos offer it?” I concluded that I must not have been listening with both frontal lobes of my brain operating. Or, maybe the first time through I’d put too much Kirsch in the fondue for lunch, and it affected my judgment. In any event, I didn’t “get it.”

So I listened to all 102:13 of it, again. This time I realized what I’d forgotten in my prejudice. Of course, the harpsichord had a limited dynamic range with each string being plucked by a leather plectrum under uniform pressure each time its keyboard note was struck (no matter how heartily or delicately). That is one of the limiting factors of its design, which became an incentive in the development of the forte piano. As for the tempo and the rhythm, I realized these were likely a secondary concern to Bach, a champion of well-tempered tuning, in these contrapuntal but equally harmonic exercises. The metronome had not yet been developed, so there couldn’t have been exact instructions from the composer as would become the later practice. There were likely “conventions,” probably issued verbally on the signature score, as to the approximate tempo the composer recommended for each section.

In my bifurcated Oblomovian mind, I decided to concede the tempo to the performer, especially as Vartolo is a highly prolific recording artist, a regular medal winner, as well as a professor at the Accademia Filarmonica of Bologna, where, in 1770, a new member—W.A. Mozart—was installed. I reasoned if there were existing instructions from Bach, or conventions that were observed concerning tempo, rubato, syncopation, etc., Vartolo (as scholar) would know them. And this time I enjoyed my listening much more. But I still wasn’t sold.

During my third trip through The Art of Fugue with Vartolo, I got so into the music I could forget about dynamic range and tempo and appreciate the gorgeous sound of the harpsichord, the skill of the Naxos recording engineers, as well as the spellbinding quality of Vartolo’s playing. I’ve taken to putting it in my CD player first thing in the morning, and (setting it on automatic repeat) letting it play all day while I am at my computer. The presentation of the music is so inevitable, the playing and recording so clean, that I’ve come to hear the clarity of the argument for original instruments, something I had thought too doctrinaire. Certainly, this music—when played on a modern piano, even by soloists who loved Bach (like Glenn Gould)—takes on a quite different mode of presentation. But I can hear the case for equally expert playing on the harpsichord.

In conclusion, I’m not too proud to climb down off my high horse and recommend this two-CD set. It has won me over by overcoming my knee-jerk reactions. If you are interested in Bach, or the fugue, or the harpsichord, or the body of work known as The Art of Fugue, I recommend this recording with high praise. Both the playing and the recording are damn fine. The lesson I’ve learned here, and hope to share with you is that in judging music, it seems best to admit your prejudices to yourself. If you can keep aware of your own preferences, education, music you exclude on specious grounds, you might discover the value of music that is new to you. As I have. Music loving ought to be inclusive. It depends on how you do it. I recommend that you Zen yourself out with Vartolo’s The Art of Fugueduring a rainy weekend. You could be pleasantly surprised! And for you harpsichord players out there, you already knew all this. But isn’t it cool to see it in print?

Review by Ilya Oblomov, Fanfare


Harpsichordist Sergio Vartolo's magisterial performance of Bach's monumental Die Kunst der Fuge is an intellectual and virtuoso tour de force, intellectual because of the rigor of the counterpoint and virtuoso because of the tremendous keyboard skill it takes to lucidly articulate Bach's music. Despite their immense difficulties, Vartolo consistently delivers readings of the 22 pieces of Die Kunst der Fuge that elucidate their counterpoint with absolute clarity and inexorable logic. For some listeners, though, Vartolo's readings may be curiously unsatisfying. While his performance cannot technically be faulted, the intellectual purity of his playing may sooner or later become tiresome because the meaning and goal of the counterpoint lacks emotional content. This performance of Die Kunst der Fuge as a series of abstract musical equations may inspire admiration, but it is unlikely to inspire awe. Naxos' digital sound is cool and open.

Review by James Leonard, Allmusic.com


The booklet-notes harpsichordist Sergio Vartolo provides for his Art of Fugue recording address the work’s etymology in painstaking detail, followed by two pages that either explain or defend his interpretation, depending on your point of view. Does this seek to validate Vartolo’s breath pauses, agogic stresses, tenutos, accents or unconventionally proportioned liberties in regard to phrasing and rhythm, lest a lowly CD reviewer find them eccentric, mannered or even pretentious?

To my ears, Vartolo’s liberal application of the notes inégales performance practice (in which notes with equal written time-values are executed with less equal durations) sometimes lends a shapeless air to the music. Cases in point include the build-up into the cadence prior to No 1’s inspired coda, No 5’s slow-to-fast trajectory, and the two three-subject fugues’ flabby momentum. However, Vartolo’s liberties convince more when he allows a basic reference tempo to establish itself, such as in the march-like No 2 or No 6 “im Stile francese”, along with the bracing three-voice mirror fugues and their two-harpsichord counterparts. And Vartolo’s brisk, forthright performance of the amazing canon in augmentation and contrary motion is a refreshing change from the laborious, impossibly slow renditions a few too many harpsichordists favour these days.

Ultimately I sense that Vartolo’s scholarly tail wags his musical dog, yet his playing is consistently true to his convictions, while the attractive colours and registrations he obtains from his Taskin model harpsichord are excellently reproduced by Naxos’s engineers.

Review by Jed Distler, Gramophone


Sergio & Maddalena Vartolo - Johann Sebastian Bach: The Art of Fugue (Die Kunst der Fuge), BWV 1080 (2009) 2CDs



Sergio & Maddalena Vartolo - Johann Sebastian Bach: The Art of Fugue (Die Kunst der Fuge), BWV 1080 (2009) 2CDs



Sergio Vartolo (Harpsichord)
Maddalena Vartolo (Harpsichord) (CD2, tracks 11-12)
Recorded at the Scuola Diocesana di Musica S. Cecilia, Verona, Italy,
from 24th to 28th April, 2008

Tracklist:

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of Fugue), BWV 1080

CD1 (46:39)

01. Contrapunctus 1 (4:11)
02. Contrapunctus 2 (2:52)
03. Contrapunctus 3 (4:24)
04. Contrapunctus 4 (4:29)
05. Contrapunctus 5 (4:47)
06. Contrapunctus 6 a 4 in Stylo Francese (4:58)
07. Contrapunctus 7 a 4 per et Diminutionem (4:28)
08. Contrapunctus 8 a 3 (7:30)
09. Contrapunctus 9 a 4 alla Duodecima (3:33)
10. Contrapunctus 10 alla Decima (5:26)


CD2 (55:30)

01. Contrapunctus 11 a 4 (8:30)
02. Contrapunctus inversus a 4 (4:13)
03. Contrapunctus inversus 12 a 4 (4:05)
04. Contrapunctus inversus a 3 (2:36)
05. Contrapunctus a 3 (2:39)
06. Fuga a 3 Soggetti (8:51)
07. Canon alla Ottava (4:35)
08. Canon alla Decima Contrap[p]unto alla Terza (5:54)
09. Canon alla Duodecima in Contrap[p]unto alla Quinta (3:40)
10. Canon per Augmentationem in Contrario Motu (5:02)
11. Fuga a 2 Clav. (2:42)
12. Alio modo Fuga a 2 Clav. (2:43)


Exact Audio Copy V1.0 beta 3 from 29. August 2011

EAC extraction logfile from 17. April 2012, 16:27

Sergio Vartolo / Bach - The Art of Fugue - CD1

Used drive : Optiarc DVD+-RW AD-5170S Adapter: 1 ID: 2

Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No

Read offset correction : 48
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000

Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 896 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : Yes
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -V -8 %source%


TOC of the extracted CD

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Range status and errors

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Test CRC 403D23BB
Copy CRC 403D23BB
Copy OK

No errors occurred

End of status report

==== Log checksum D8796B5D9ECB23EA65B952F34915198BD9C818CEAB2C9C25E523C05EFAC86148 ====

[CUETools log; Date: 16.07.2018 17:28:37; Version: 2.1.4]
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10 [30d58b9d] (0/3) No match (V2 was not tested)

Track Peak [ CRC32 ] [W/O NULL] [ LOG ]
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foobar2000 1.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2018-07-16 17:31:48

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Sergio Vartolo / Bach - The Art of Fugue - CD1
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR12 -4.76 dB -20.45 dB 4:11 01-Contrapunctus 1
DR12 -3.17 dB -17.99 dB 2:52 02-Contrapunctus 2
DR12 -7.26 dB -22.62 dB 4:24 03-Contrapunctus 3
DR13 -2.88 dB -18.18 dB 4:29 04-Contrapunctus 4
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DR13 -1.72 dB -17.73 dB 4:58 06-Contrapunctus 6 a 4 in Stylo Francese
DR12 -5.23 dB -20.09 dB 4:28 07-Contrapunctus 7 a 4 per et Diminutionem
DR13 -2.69 dB -18.70 dB 7:30 08-Contrapunctus 8 a 3
DR12 -2.71 dB -16.98 dB 3:33 09-Contrapunctus 9 a 4 alla Duodecima
DR13 -4.94 dB -21.57 dB 5:26 10-Contrapunctus 10 alla Decima
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Number of tracks: 10
Official DR value: DR13

Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 883 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================


Exact Audio Copy V1.0 beta 3 from 29. August 2011

EAC extraction logfile from 17. April 2012, 16:54

Sergio Vartolo / Bach - The Art of Fugue - CD2

Used drive : Optiarc DVD+-RW AD-5170S Adapter: 1 ID: 2

Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No

Read offset correction : 48
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000

Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 896 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : Yes
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -V -8 %source%


TOC of the extracted CD

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Range status and errors

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Peak level 84.6 %
Extraction speed 5.1 X
Range quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 3D21A54B
Copy CRC 3D21A54B
Copy OK

No errors occurred

End of status report

==== Log checksum 169E9BE8D89E157156CE379E0B6D7320335402D3610BF226108B7B41B4076160 ====

[CUETools log; Date: 16.07.2018 17:28:53; Version: 2.1.4]
[CTDB TOCID: ba0qgFapyrJ99y9XOaetMdiHPnQ-] found.
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5 | (6/6) Accurately ripped
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11 | (6/6) Accurately ripped
12 | (6/6) Accurately ripped
[AccurateRip ID: 001ad32f-00f5e0dc-950d020c] found.
Track [ CRC | V2 ] Status
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Track Peak [ CRC32 ] [W/O NULL] [ LOG ]
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foobar2000 1.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2018-07-16 17:31:51

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Sergio Vartolo, Maddalena Vartolo / Bach - The Art of Fugue - CD2
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR12 -3.60 dB -18.35 dB 2:42 11-Fuga a 2 Clav.
DR12 -3.43 dB -19.18 dB 2:43 12-Alio modo Fuga a 2 Clav.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Number of tracks: 2
Official DR value: DR12

Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 876 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Sergio Vartolo / Bach - The Art of Fugue - CD2
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR13 -1.45 dB -18.40 dB 8:30 01-Contrapunctus 11 a 4
DR12 -6.73 dB -21.75 dB 4:13 02-Contrapunctus inversus a 4
DR12 -5.94 dB -21.62 dB 4:05 03-Contrapunctus inversus 12 a 4
DR12 -3.84 dB -17.98 dB 2:36 04-Contrapunctus inversus a 3
DR12 -2.14 dB -19.41 dB 2:39 05-Contrapunctus a 3
DR13 -4.20 dB -20.24 dB 8:51 06-Fuga a 3 Soggetti
DR12 -4.37 dB -17.97 dB 4:35 07-Canon alla Ottava
DR13 -7.94 dB -24.15 dB 5:54 08-Canon alla Decima Contrap[p]unto alla Terza
DR12 -4.74 dB -19.08 dB 3:40 09-Canon alla Duodecima in Contrap[p]unto alla Quinta
DR12 -8.49 dB -23.20 dB 5:02 10-Canon per Augmentationem in Contrario Motu
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Number of tracks: 10
Official DR value: DR12

Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 876 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================

Sergio & Maddalena Vartolo - Johann Sebastian Bach: The Art of Fugue (Die Kunst der Fuge), BWV 1080 (2009) 2CDs

All thanks to original releaser
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