The performer, Eloïse Bella Kohn, played entirely without pedal on this recording to fully render the splendor of the contrapuntal lines in Bach's music.
Compositional Technique
In the famous last fugue (Contrapunctus 14), Bach used the Note-Letter symbolism to write his name B-A-C-H as the notes of the third theme.
Composition History
The last fugue, Contrapunctus 14, was left unfinished because Bach had gone blind in the last months of his life and was no longer able to compose.
Compositional Technique
The Art of Fugue is unique in that Bach develops twenty fugues and canons from a single D minor theme, unlike his Well-Tempered Clavier where each of the 48 fugues has its own subject.
Performer Biography
Thierry Escaich, who composed a new completion for the last fugue on this album, is renowned as a virtuoso organist, improviser, and one of the most sought-after international composers.
Composer Biography
Bach composed The Art of Fugue towards the end of his life, when he was between 50 and 60 years old, and it is considered his artistic legacy.
Composition History
Bach's The Art of Fugue was not a commissioned work, but one he undertook at his own initiative, for his own enjoyment, making it particularly close to his heart.
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