Lemniscate
Die Kunst der Fuga
Surrounded by a certain air of mystery and revered as a relic, The Art of Fugue is roundly praised for its complex, mathematical nature. However, these works are also movingly lyrical, and deserve to be enjoyed for their pure beauty, just as one enjoys the rhythms and sounds of a poem, apart from its form or even meaning. Following the last version of J.S. Bach's autograph manuscript, New Collegium champions in this recording the reconciliation and celebration of all these aspects, bringing to the fore both the cerebral brilliance as well as the emotive intensity of this iconic masterpiece, allowing it to be both light and profound. The rich instrumentation of woodwinds, brass, strings and harpsichord allows for expressive characters to be exaggerated, hints at other musical styles, and paints diverse atmospheres, infusing fantasy and life into these twenty fugues and canons.
Recorded 6–8 October 2022 at Westvest90 Schiedam (The Netherlands)
Production: New Collegium
Executive production: Rainer Arndt (Outhere)
Cover: Calculating machine by Anton Braun and Philippe Vayringe after Jacob Leupold (Leipzig 1727 / Vienna 1735)
Photographs: © Petra Nuria Photography
Fundraising: New Collegium
This album was made possible with the generous support of Sena, Gilles Hondius Foundation and several international donors, to whom go our sincere thanks.
Musicians & Instruments
Sara DeCorso - violin
violin: Louis Socquet, Paris, 1781; bow: Luis Emilio Rodrigues Carrington, The Hague, 2015
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Tomoe Badiarova - viola
viola: Dmitry Badiarov, The Hague, 2014; bow: Dmitry Badiarov, Tokyo, 2007
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Barbara Konrad - viola
viola: Mathias Thir, Vienna, 1781; bow: Lothar Seifert, Bubenreuth, 1970
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Rebecca Rosen - cello
cello: Joann Andreas Kämbl, Munich, 1745; bow: Kees van Hemert, The Hague, 2010
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Anna Lachegyi - viola da gamba
viola da gamba: Judith Kraft, Paris, 2021 (after Guillaume Barbey); bow: László Lakatos, Budapest, 2014
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Inês d’Avena - recorder
voice flute: Fumitaka Saito, Amsterdam, 2015 (after N. Castel, Venice)
alto recorder in f: Fumitaka Saito, Amsterdam, 2005 (after J. Denner, Nuremberg)
soprano recorder in c: Hiroyuki Takeyama, Osaka, c. 2007
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Tami Krausz - traverso
traverso: Rudolf Tutz, Innsbruck, 2015 (after I. H. Rottenburgh, Brussels)
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Daniel Lanthier - oboe
oboe da caccia: Lucas van Helsdingen, Amsterdam, 2012 (after I.T. Weigel, Breslau)
oboe: Pau Orriols, Vilanova i la Geltrú, 2014 (after T. Stanesby Jr., London)
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Jamie Savan - cornetto
cornetto (A=466 Hz): John McCann, Sandy UT, 2012 (after 17th-century Venetian originals); mouthpiece: Jamie Savan, Birmingham, 2020 (own design)
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Matthijs van der Moolen - alto & tenor trombone
alto trombone in d (A=466 Hz): Egger, Basel, 2019 (after Hieronimus Starck, Nürnberg, 1670); mouthpiece by Geert Jan van der Heide, Putten, c. 2019 (after J. W. Haas, Nuremberg, c. 1700)
tenor trombone in a (A=466 Hz) by Aron Vajna, Basel, 2022 (after the anonymous instrument in the Accademia Filarmonica in Verona, Venice?, c. 1560); mouthpiece: Geert Jan van der Heide, Putten, c. 2019 (standard baroque design)
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Joost Swinkels - tenor & bass trombone
tenor trombone in a (A=466 Hz), Ewald Meinl, Geretsried, 2005 (after Anton Drewelwecz, Nuremberg, 1595); mouthpiece: Egger, Basel, 2012
bass trombone in f (A=466 Hz), Ewald Meinl, Geretsried, 2010 (after Georg Nikolaus Öller, Stockholm, 1640); mouthpiece: Geert Jan van der Heide, Putten, 2015
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Wouter Verschuren - bassoon
bassoon: François De Rudder, Florence, 2012 (after G. M. Anciuti, Milan)
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Claudio Ribeiro - harpsichord & artistic direction
harpsichord: Onno Peper, Oss, 2000 (after Antonio Migliai, Florence, 1702)
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