With this reissue the number of available recordings of The Art of Fugue reaches ten, of which only two are played on the harpsichord. The old notion—prompted by the fact that it was originally published with the parts on separate staves—that this is some kind of absolute music conceived free of instrumental constraint has spawned a wide array of arrangements, but in fact the case for the harpsichord as the intended instrument is pretty well watertight. Leonhardt's insert note—reproduced from the one he wrote for the original LP release of this 1969 recording—should in itself be enough to persuade anyone of that, even if his similarly self-assured argument depriving us of the final, unfinished fugue is, as Malcolm Boyd has pointed out in his Master Musicians Bach (Dent: 1983), partly based on some faulty arithmetic. (If you do want the last fugue on the harpsichord you will have to look to Davitt Moroney's Gramophone Award-winning recording for Harmonia Mundi (France)—HMC90 1169/70, 5/86.)
What we do get in this set is a distinguished sequence of performances which is certainly well worth reviving. Leonhardt has a wonderful talent for achieving textural and structural lucidity, and it is impossible to listen to his performances of these superb and beautiful fugues without sensing that his understanding of them is deep. Generally restrained choices of register help him in his search for clarity, though the slightly beefier sounds employed in Contrapunctus 8 and the impressive textural build-ups of Contrapunctus 11 prove equally effective. (I don't know quite what eccentricity, however, prompted the use of the four-foot stop on its own for the canon at the octave.) Leonhardt opts for the two-harpsichord versions of the two mirror fugues, in which he is joined discreetly by Bob van Asperen.
Released as part of the same set are some even older recordings of the Italian Concerto and the Overture in the French style (the components of Clavier-Ubung II, along with the Prelude, Fugue and Allegro for harpsichord or lute, BWV998. All were recorded during the mid 1960s but have not been generally available in the UK. Again, there is fine harpsichord playing on display, with Leonhardt showing typical intelligence and a keen sensitivity to Bach's sense of form and keyboard orchestration. I can't help wondering if he would snatch at the dotted rhythms of the Overture so, or make the Gigue so choppy, if he were performing these pieces today, but in general it is admirable poise and control which characterize these performances.
Leonhardt's instrument is a Dulcken copy for all the pieces except BWV998, for which he chooses a soft-toned but mechanically creaky Grabner original. The recordings are rather close, which might make listening for a long stretch a little wearing, but this is not something which should seriously detract from the enjoyment of hearing a master harpsichordist at work.'