Vagatio Super Fuga Vocibus Tribus et Tubis Quinque

Programme notes

Between the realms of sleep and consciousness lies the realm of awakening when reminiscences of a fugue by Bach float round and round and round… The word Vagātiō in Latin means: wandering, roaming or straying. Figuratively, it can refer to a deviation or change of color or form. Casteels's woodwind quintet is built like a dream, dreaming Johann Sebastian Bach's Fugue no. 13 in F-sharp major, BWV 882, book II of The Well-Tempered Clavier. In the first movement, fragments of musical phrases emerge here and there. The same process evolves in the slow 2nd and fast 3rd movement. Finally in the fourth movement, the fugue is played and Bach's original form. However, in a subtle way, bits and pieces and progressively omitted, until the fugue evaporates like a dream, ending with with a hum. The Brussels Wind Ensemble was formed and led by Robert Casteels from 1983 to 1985.

Completion of the composition 

1-XI-1983

Analysis

see Vagatio (1983) under Articles