Kenneth Weiss, harpsichord, J. S. Bach, The Art of Fugue, Contrapunctus XIV, unfinished

Kenneth Weiss plays the unfinished Contrapunctus XIV from J. S. Bach's Art of Fugue, recorded at home in Paris on 12 May 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. This is the final post of Kenneth Weiss's Art of Fugue on IGTV. This complete recording of the Art of Fugue can also be viewed on YouTube. Many thanks to @ros3milk for the text presentations at the beginning and end of each of the Contrapuncti and Canons. (Français en-dessous) “I started working on the Art of Fugue during the summer of 2019, following an invitation to perform the work with the viol ensemble Phantasm in the Lausanne Bach Festival in November 2020. I rapidly became deeply immersed in the work, almost to the point of obsession. I inevitably returned to it in the isolation of the Covid-19 lockdown, and as it is proving to be a welcome solace, I have decided to share it here. “On April 21st I heard that Monique Bernat had died the night before. Monique was one of the first people to invite Gustav Leonhardt to perform in France in the early 1970s. She was always very supportive and invited me to perform in the St Guilhem-le-Désert summer music festival on several occasions. I would like to dedicate this recording of The Art of Fugue to her memory.” Kenneth Weiss “J’ai commencé à travailler l’Art de la Fugue pendant l’été 2019, après avoir été invité par le Festival Bach de Lausanne pour donner cette oeuvre avec le consort de violes Phantasm en novembre 2020. Très vite, je me suis retrouvé profondément immergé dans celle-ci, presque jusqu’à l'obsession. En isolement pendant le confinement dû au Covid-19, je m’y suis inévitablement replongé et ce fut une telle consolation que j’ai décidé partager cette expérience ici. “Et puis le 21 avril, j’ai appris la disparition de Monique Bernat. Monique fut la première à inviter Gustav Leonhardt à se produire en France au début des années 70. À mon égard, elle a toujours été encourageante et m’a invité à plusieurs reprises à jouer au Festival d’été de St Guilhem-le-Désert. Je souhaite dédier cet enregistrement à sa mémoire.” Kenneth Weiss https://www.kennethweiss.info/

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