Die Kunst der Fuge is a work that is a perfect embodiment of the musical form contained in its title – the fugue. The collection, on which Johann Sebastian Bach began work around 1742, was an attempt to explore the broad possibilities of counterpoint. Although it was not originally intended to be performed, it is not just a speculation of a brilliant mind that aroused admiration among those who analysed its structures. We will discern the genius of its form thanks to Wrocław Baroque Ensemble conducted by Andrzej Kosendiak.

This brilliant, unfinished work, the result of excellent mastery of the compositional craft and the most significant intellectual ambitions, fell in oblivion for a long time. Only a few dozen copies of its first edition were purchased, and Johann Sebastian Bach’s son – Carl Philipp Emmanuel – sold the copperplates with the notation of the work for a price of scrap metal. The Art of Fugue was referenced by the greatest artists of subsequent eras: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Johannes Brahms. Yet the prevailing opinion was that it was a theoretical treatise, not intended for listening.

It only began to be programmed in the last century, gaining the status of the musical Holy Grail. The fact that Bach, when creating the nineteen counterpoints that make up the two volumes of The Art of Fugue, did not leave any instructions regarding the instrumentation of the pieces means that the decision on the line-up is made by the performers. During the festival concert, the compositions included in the collection will be heard in an arrangement prepared by Andrzej Kosendiak. The artistic director of Wratislavia Cantans will use three quartets: string, gamba and winds, as well as two harpsichords, creating his own version of a musical paradise that was written for voices three centuries ago by the Baroque master from Eisenach.