Fine Arts Quartet - Bach: Art Of The Fugue (1962) Vinyl LP Contrapuncti 1-11

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Condition Details:

Still in ORIGINAL SHRINK-WRAP (opened); front top right corner has no shrink. Vinyl plays with occasional light-crackles (play-graded). Cover has a few creases near edges, discoloration with darker spots along opening edge and near bottom right where shrink has come off (front/back). Inner-sleeve is original (generic white); one seam partially split. Spine is easy-to-read with mild-wear. Minor shelf-wear but some discoloration along top/bottom-edge and corners Opening is crisp with signs of light use and divots. (Not a cut-out.)

Tracks:

1. The Art Of The Fugue (Contrapuncti I Through XI, Inclusive)

About The Record:

Art Of The Fugue by Fine Arts Quartet, in collaboration with the New York Woodwind Quintet, presents Johann Sebastian Bach's monumental The Art of the Fugue through a distinctive chamber arrangement that blends string quartet textures with woodwind colors for enhanced tonal variety and clarity in the contrapuntal lines. This 1962 recording covers the first part, featuring Contrapuncti 1 through 11, with a subsequent part for the remaining sections, marking a transitional approach between pure string quartet interpretations and fuller ensemble realizations, as arranged by Samuel Baron to alternate between strings alone, winds alone, and combined forces across the fugues. A unique and interesting aspect is its use of nine players to bring out the intricate polyphony of Bach's unfinished masterpiece, which is widely regarded as one of the composer's most profound and intellectually demanding works, left incomplete at his death and consisting primarily of fugues and canons on a single theme. While no individual movements stand out as popular songs in the conventional sense within this classical instrumental cycle, the performance highlights the work's structural ingenuity and emotional depth, earning note in discussions of historical Art of the Fugue recordings for its spirited vigor and imaginative instrumentation. There were no hit singles or chart success for the album.