Bach: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of Fugue) Les Voix Humaines

• 1 Contrapunctus I 02:57
• 2 Contrapunctus II 02:53
• 3 Contrapunctus III 02:37
• 4 Contrapunctus IV 04:39
• 5 Contrapunctus V 02:49
• 6 Contrapunctus VI a 4 in Stylo Francese 03:59
• 7 Contrapunctus VII a 4 per Augmentationem et Diminutionem 03:20
• 8 Contrapunctus VIII a 3 05:43
• 9 Contrapunctus IX a 4 alla Duodecima 02:55
• 10 Contrapunctus X a 4 alla Decima 03:34
• 11 Contrapunctus XI a 4 06:02
• 12 Contrapunctus XII a 4 01:49
• 13 Contrapunctus inversus XII a 3 02:08
• 14 Contrapunctus XIII a 4 02:21
• 15 Contrapunctus inversus XIII a 4 02:28
• 16 Canon per Augmentationem in contrario motu 05:18
• 17 Canon alla Ottava 02:49
• 18 Canon alla Decima in Contrapunto alla Terza 04:41
• 19 Canon alla Duodecima in Contrapunto alla Quinta 02:33
• 20 Fuga a 3 Soggetti (Contrapunctus XIV) 06:52
• Total Runtime 01:12:27

Info for Bach: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of Fugue)

Johann Sebastian Bach’s The Art of Fugue (Die Kunst der Fuge), one of the peaks of the Baroque contrapuntal style, also turns out to be one of the most enigmatic works in the history of music. Though composed as a series of fugues on the same subject, Bach did not specify the instruments that should play them. Les Voix humaines viol consort has recorded its own version of Bach’s unfinished final work.

Since 2001, some of Montreal's finest gambists have regularly joined the viol duo Les Voix humaines to form the Voix Humaines Consort, which specializes in the vast 17th-century repertoire for viol consort. The regular quartet consists of Margaret Little, Mélisande Corriveau, Felix Deak and Susie Napper.

Les Voix humaines has recorded some forty discs, mostly on the ATMA label, which have received critical acclaim and prestigious awards (Diapason D’or, Choc du Monde de la Musique, Repertoire-Classica 10, Goldberg 5, Classics Today 10/10, Prix Opus, etc). They include several discs with soprano Suzie LeBlanc and countertenor Daniel Taylor, a Telemann disc with renowned Belgian flutist Barthold Kuijken, a Marais disc with world famous gambist Wieland Kuijken, and Purcell's complete Fantasias for viols. Their recording of the complete Concerts a deux violes esgales by Sainte-Colombe (4 double CDs) is a world premiere, and the fourth volume was awarded a Diapason D'or.

“From the first track, they play with a distinctively French accent, incorporating enfles (swells) - something a harpsichord or piano could never achieve. Elegant, yes; Bachian, maybe not...The two-part Canons are especially well played and the final Contrapunctus 14 sublime.” (Gramophone)

Les Voix Humaines:
Margaret Little, viola da gamba
Susie Napper, viola da gamba
Mélisande Corriveau, viola da gamba
Felix Deak, viola da gamba

Les Voix Humaines
Their musical complicity has been compared to the skill of two trapeze artists or the telepathic communion of a pair of jazz saxophonists! Susie Napper and Margaret Little, the two gambists of Les Voix humaines, have been thrilling audiences worldwide with dashing performances of early and contemporary music for viols since 1985. They are renowned for their spectacular arrangements of a wide variety of music for two viols and have become a world reference for the music of Sainte-Colombe. After being awarded a DIAPASON D’OR for their fourth volume of Sainte-Colombe's Concerts a deux violes esgales, they just received the Opus Award 2007 for PERFORMERS OF THE YEAR from the Conseil québécois de la musique.

Les Voix humaines has invited prestigious artists to join them in concert and recordings, such as Wieland and Barthold Kuijken, Charles Daniels, Suzie LeBlanc, Rinat Shaham, Matthew White, Eric Milnes, Skip Sempe and Stephen Stubbs. The duo is regularly joined by some of Montreal’s finest young gambists to form the Voix Humaines Consort of viols specializing in the vast 17th-century repertoire for viol consort and presents joint projects with Les Voix baroques (Matthew White’s vocal ensemble).

Les Voix humaines has recorded over thirty discs which have received critical acclaim and prestigious awards (DIAPASON D’OR, Choc du Monde de la Musique, Repertoire-Classica 10, Goldperg 5, Classics Today 10/10, Prix Opus, etc). They include the complete Poeticall Musicke of Tobias Hume, The 4 Seasons of Christopher Simpson, the complete Le Nymphe di Rheno of Johannes Schenck, several discs with soprano Suzie LeBlanc and countertenor Daniel Taylor, a Telemann disc with renowned Belgian flutist Barthold Kuijken and a Marais disc with world famous gambist Wieland Kuijken. Their recording of the complete Concerts a deux violes esgales by Sainte-Colombe (4 double CDs) is a world premiere. Les Voix humaines record for the ATMA label.

The duo has toured in North America, Mexico, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Israel, performing is prestigious festivals such as Early Music Vancouver, the Festival Internacional Cervantino, the Brighton International Music Festival, the Festival Oude Musiek, Holland, the Boston Early Music Festival, the Summer Festivities of Early Music in Prague and the Israel Festival.

Booklet for Bach: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of Fugue)