Obra: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of Fugue), BWV1080, Contrapunctus IX

Rich sounding viols, lively percussion and spicy theorbo and guitar in eclectic consort music from Jordi Savall and Hesperian XXI in their 50th year. 

The gut strings and period bows of the Chiaroscuro Quartet cast dramatic light and shade movements on from Bach's The Art of Fugue and quartets by Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn.

The more you read about music, the more you notice the word “authenticity” cropping up annoyingly frequently. The great raging musical arguments of the late 20th century still burn; performers, listeners, even composers find themselves having to take up quasi-moralistic stances on gut strings, vibrato, and whether trills should begin on the upper or lower note.