Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750)
The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080 [81:26]
Thierry ESCAICH (b. 1965)
Completion of Contrapunctus XIV
Eloïse Bella Kohn (piano)
rec. February & March 2021, Teldex Studio, Berlin
HÄNSSLER CLASSIC HC21049 [38:39 + 42:77]
Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier has for long been a pianist’s rite of passage in the recording studio, and it seems The Art of Fugue is beginning to take on something of that aura of being a major challenge, as well as having acquired something approaching mainstream appeal. Eloïse Bella Kohn is a young French pianist who has already been awarded ‘Young Talent’ by Diapason magazine in 2016, and she has been a ‘Yamaha Artist’ since 2018. Her debut was a recording of Debussy’s 24 Préludes for Hänssler Classic in 2018, which was awarded “CHOC de Classica”, and this BWV 1080 is her second album.
Eloïse Bella Kohn’s playing is fairly crisp and straightforward, though not without character. She pulls no punches, with the clarity of her voicing in Bach’s counterpoint also showing a willingness to use the full dynamic range of the Yamaha CFX instrument at her disposal. This comes at the expense of the more lyrical side of the music which gives Angela Hewitt’s generally broader readings their magnetic attractiveness and aura of fascinating discovery (review). Expressiveness need not result in hugely extended duration however as proved by Schaghajegh Nosrati (review), and if you want to hear the slow and poetic side of this music explored then Filippo Gorini is your man (review).
There is something to be said for Kohn’s approach, which is not without contrast and at times can create the animated character some of Bach’s cantata choruses, but it has been the emphasis on the vocal nature of the music that has brought it out from its fairly dusty and archival reputation and into the light as a triumphant contrapuntal vehicle for sophisticated music making at the piano. Yamaha pianos are not always the best for sustained lines, and you will want your best equipment to hear the refinement in Kohn’s playing. This can sound a bit incessant on cheaper earbuds over computer streaming, but sounds tip-top on a decent CD player and pro headphones/speakers - a salutary lesson never to comment on sound quality while writing reviews on the move.
Of interest here is French composer Thierry Escaich’s completion of the final Fuga a 3 Soggetti. I tend to lean more towards leaving Bach’s work where he did, though I admit that the aura of magic around those notes that just vanish into the ether can rest on more than a little sentimentality in the listener. Escaich teaches at the Paris Conservatoire and knows as much as anyone about how to write a fugue. His completion is both inventive and respectful, drawing on our knowledge of Bach as an improviser at the keyboard. “What I did was not to re-invent, but only to finish what was almost finished. I didn’t choose any stylistic difference. I kept to Bach’s style, but I didn’t follow any preconceived form…” The result is a highly effective final three minutes of music that has its own narrative content, taking Bach’s themes on their complex and at times dramatic final journey to an inevitable cadence. This is an admirable achievement whatever your opinion may be on whether this kind of completion is a good idea or not.
I have to declare that I prefer a more reflective approach to The Art of Fugue than Eloïse Bella Kohn delivers in this recording, but am also aware that one person’s contrapuntal contemplation may be another’s passport to boredom. Boring is one thing Kohn’s playing is not, so if you are looking for a more pert and energetic piano recording of BWV 1080 then this might well be the pace and the place for you.
Dominy Clements
