A talented violinist and composer, Feininger compared his art to music, which played a major role in his approach to art. Throughout his life he sought to reproduce the structures of the fugue in both his pictorial work and in his musical compositions. When asked which artist had influenced him the most, he replied “Bach”. Like his colleagues Klee and Kandinsky, he believed that music brought transcendence to his art.
At the centre of the exhibition is a music room that enables visitors to experience the synthesis of painting and music as Feininger envisaged it: the musical constructions of counterpoint echo the chromatic partitions of his paintings through a wealth of fugues and other pieces for various instruments, most of them composed by Bach but others written by the artist himself.
At the same time the Arte Musica Foundation is presenting a festival in the new Bourgie Hall entitled “A Fugue at the Museum”, an exploration of the world of the fugue with lectures and concerts devoted to this rich and thrilling musical form. The programme ranges from 18th century repertoire (with Bach’s Art of Fugue and the Well-tempered Clavier, two landmark pieces) to the present, including Feininger’s own compositions and works inspired by his paintings. The festival “A Fugue at the Museum” was conceived by Isolde Lagacé, general and artistic director of the Arte Musica Foundation.
CONCERTS FONDATION ARTE MUSICA
Festival “A Fugue at the Museum”
View the brochure
SalleBourgie.ca
THE WELL-TEMPERED TELEPHONE
THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2 P.M.
A work by Walter Boudreau and Yves Daoust for wind quintet, harpsichord, organ
electronics and cell phones
SMCQ Ensemble
Walter Boudreau, conductor
Geneviève Soly, harpsichord and Jean-Willy Kunz organ
A playful piece inspired by the first Prelude and fugue of Bach’s Well-tempered Clavier, which will require
audience participation with their own precious instruments: the cell phone.
A unique experience for the whole family during spring break.
PRELUDES AND FUGUES BY SHOSTAKOVICh
THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 7.30 P.M.
David Jalbert, piano
Excerpts from a major twentieth-century work inspired by Bach’s Well-tempered Clavier.
THE ART OF FUGUE BY J. S. BACH
SATURDAY, MARCH 10, 7.30 P.M.
Les Idées heureuses
Natalie Michaud, recorder and direction
Geneviève Soly, organ and harpsichord
J. S. Bach’s ultimate masterpiece performed by string quartet, recorder quartet, organ and two harpsichords
J. S. BACH’S SIX BRANDENBURG CONCERTOS
SUNDAY, MARCH 11, 7.30 P.M.
Ensemble Caprice
Matthias Maute, conductor
A rousing interpretation of J. S. Bach’s most famous series of concertos.
J. S. BACH’S WELL-TEMPERED CLAVIER IN FOUR CONCERTS
With Luc Beauséjour, Tom Beghin, Jean-Willy Kunz and Ilya Poletaev
Matthias Maute, conductor
A unique work in all respects, one of the mainstays of Western music, the Well-tempered Clavier is the title of two cycles of
preludes and fugues in all twenty-four major and minor keys that J. S. Bach composed approximately twenty years apart. The
48 Preludes and Fugues will be presented using the magnificent collection of keyboard instruments from Bourgie Hall, by four
remarkable and multi-talented musicians.
I. Friday, March 9, 6 p.m.
Tom Beghin, pianoforte and clavichord
Ilya Poletaev, clavecin, piano and organ
Preludes and fugues Nos. 1 to 6, books I and II
II. Friday, March 9, 8 p.m.
Tom Beghin, pianoforte and clavichord
Ilya Poletaev, clavecin, piano and organ
Preludes and fugues Nos. 7 to 12, books I and II
III. Sunday, March 11, 2 p.m.
Luc Beauséjour et Jean-Willy Kunz, harpsichord, clavicytherium and organ
Preludes and fugues Nos. 13 to 18, books I and II
IV. Sunday, March 11, 4 p.m.
Luc Beauséjour et Jean-Willy Kunz, harpsichord, clavicytherium and organ
Preludes and fugues Nos. 19 to 24, books I and II
Special price for all four concerts: $43.89
(On sale by phone or in person only)
MUSICAL CANVASES
FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 6.30 P.M.
The fugue from Bach to Feininger
Mathieu Gaudet, piano
A journey through the history of the fugue, from the eighteenth century to today.
Works by Schumann, Ana Sokolovi, Feininger and J. S. Bach.
FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 6.30 P.M.
Tribute to Feininger
Louise Bessette, piano
Works by Feininger and German composer Kurt Dietmar Richter
inspired by the painting of the artist.
