Shownotes

The 3- and 6-part ricercars are the fugues Bach was supposedly asked to improvise for his visit to Potsdam late in his career. The resulting work we call "The Musical Offering" included Bach's perfected versions of these fugues, but also a collection of other contrapuntal pieces as well.

The most athletic and astonishly piece in the collection is the 6-part ricercar. Originally written for a single keyboard player, many of the examples I've included stray from that orchestration. For me, these different interpretations help reveal the genius behing the work in a very accessible way for the listener.

• Musical Offering, BWV 1079, Michael Behringer, piano
• JS Bach, The Musical Offering, Ensemble Sonnerie
• Alio Modo, Bach arrangements by Fretwork
• JS Bach Transcriptions by Ensemble Contraste
• Bach/Webern Ricercar, Munich Chamber Orchestra, C. Poppen