| In the introduction to his book Musical Meaning and Emotion, philosopher Stephen Davies wrote: 'I do not believe that all music is expressive. Neither do I believe that expressiveness is always the most important feature of music that is expressive'. To illustrate this, he presented Bach’s Art of Fugue as the archetypal example. Here, he claims, is a work in which the listener’s attention should be drawn to 'the way the material is handled'; the music’s 'expressive and dynamic features' – or lack thereof – are of marginal importance (p. 354). This view is not atypical. The Art of Fugue’s reputation as a cerebral, intellectual work is so pervasive that Rinaldo Alessandrini, in the notes to his recording, was moved to ask: 'is it possible to consider The Art of Fugue as music?' |
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