Bach: Art of Fugue No1-14

Not only do they desire a form a perfection, they attain it. And I'm not talking about the kind of empty, technical perfection laid accusingly at the door of many young musicians. No, every note, every phrase, every movement has a purpose and a sense of its own standing within the given work as a whole.

The Emerson Quartet bring out all the varied characters, but the most impressive thing about them ist their concentration. Sometimes this can be overwhelming.

I found myself very soon immersed in the work because of the unforced intensitiy of the Emerson Quartet's playing here.

The Emerson has some splendidly imaginative ideas - not least, reversing its conventional seating positions for the inverted fugues. Bach's parts work equally well individually inverted and migrating, top to bottom. The altered soundscape is surprisingly telling

Almost immediately, and indeed almost from the first jaunty statement of the theme by violist Lawrence Dutton, this has become one of my favorite recordings of Bach's daunting "Art of Fugue"...What distinguishes this recording is its rhythmic life, as well as the buoyant clarity of the individual lines.