The Art of Fugue;
Sunday 12th February 2023 in the Angel Centre at 3pm
The concert given by Worcester’s Musical and Amicable Society was performed in the round to great effect. It was well received by an appreciative audience whose feedback included the following:
“the in-the-round worked very well–a real collective experience…and I liked the poetry sorbets…..”
“a fabulous concert”,
“a wholly immersive experience” and “superb” .
The first half of the concert set the scene with two works employing fugal techniques written before J.S. Bach’s Art of Fugue; Paduan a 4 from Ludi Musici by Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654) and 3 Fantazias by Henry Purcell (1659-1695). The second half of the concert was given to J.S. Bach’s great work the Art of Fugue. Written towards the end of his life (1685-1750) this tour de force of counterpoint was interspersed with verses of a poem of the same title, by contemporary Canadian poet Jan Zwicky aptly describing a performance of Bach’s Art of Fugue. These two art forms complemented each other to enhance the musical performance, providing a thoughtful and contemplative experience.

Members of the Musical and Amicables rehearsing for the afternoon concert


