Bach's Art of Fugue and Musical Offering

Matthew Dirst

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English

Oxford University Press Inc
10 March 2024

Music; Theory of music & musicology; Music reviews & criticism; Western "classical" music; History: specific events & topics

Series: The ABS Guides Series

The initial volume in a series of American Bach Society Guides, Bach's Art of Fugue and Musical Offering is a comprehensive study of two closely related masterworks of the late Baroque fugal style. This compact guide, intended for practitioners, music scholars, and a general readership, summarizes a considerable body of knowledge about these famously cerebral collections in an engaging and accessible style. Bach specialist and keyboard player Matthew Dirst explains the Art of Fugue and Musical Offering's idiosyncratic musical language while reviewing how both projects took shape during Bach's final decade. They reflect Bach's lifelong fascination with learned counterpoint, as demonstrated in elaborate series of fugues and canons in both and in an unusually intricate trio sonata in the latter. Dirst provides commentary on individual movements and groups of pieces and on the historical reception of this music, including its impact on other disciplines. Recurring themes include Bach's diligent exploration of contrapuntal types and techniques, his embrace of musical games, and his creative assimilation of diverse musical styles.

By: Matthew Dirst
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 211mm, Width: 141mm, Spine: 11mm
Weight: 222g
ISBN: 9780197536643
ISBN 10: 0197536646
Series: The ABS Guides Series
Pages: 184
Publication Date: 10 March 2024
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Matthew Dirst is an organist, harpsichordist, conductor, and musicologist. Professor of Music at the University of Houston, he is also Artistic Director of Ars Lyrica Houston and appears regularly with other ensembles. He is the author of Engaging Bach: The Keyboard Legacy from Marpurg to Mendelssohn and the editor of Bach and the Organ. A Grammy nominee for his work with Ars Lyrica (Best Opera 2011), Dirst recorded Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1 (Acis) in 2023.

Reviews for Bach's Art of Fugue and Musical Offering

A work reflecting impeccable scholarship, deep understanding of performance issues, and obvious reverence for the music. This volume will long be consulted by anyone taking the plunge into the Musical Offering or the Art of Fugue. * Choice *