"THE ART OF FUGUE: THE OPERA" PROJECT
“The opening fugues [of The Art of Fugue], which basically are simple fugues, are put together like old fashioned motets – vocal types of musical writing without any fancy instrumentalisms in there, no virtuosic gestures. So plain counterpoint, YOU COULD ADD TEXT TO IT, SING THE STUFF and it is not a coincidence that Bach makes use of vocal clefs in his notation." Christoff Wolff, Desert Fugue "Bach never wrote an opera. . . ." Anthony Tommasini, The Greatest, The New York Times, January, 21, 2011 THE BASIC IDEA FOR THIS PROJECT: 1) Pick several contrapuncti and canons from The Art of the Fugue; 2) "Add text to it" (and a plot) to come up with a short (20-35 minutes) intermezzo type "opera" (think "La Serva Padrona"); and 3) "Sing the stuff." Gary O'Connor Silver Spring, Maryland TheArtofFugueTheOpera@gmail.com INSPIRATIONS FOR THIS PROJECT (SO FAR): 1) Ebenezer Prout. 2) Rameau operas. 3) The Brady Bunch Movie. 4) Bach's Coffee Cantata. 5) Scalia/Ginsburg. PROGRESS ON THIS PROJECT: 1) I have found a countertenor and a bass who are interested the project. 2) I have commissioned a libretto for this. 3) I now have a first draft of a libretto!
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