Klengel's Canons and Fugues

[swilliams002]

I just wanted to see if anyone else has heard these little contrapuntal pieces by August Stephan Alexander Klengel (1783-1852), a student of Clementi.

History and recordings of Klengel's Canons and Fugues: https://august-klengel.8sf.de/en/
Wiki page for Klengel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Alexander_Klengel

Some of them seem quite wonderful to me, and I'm surprised to have never heard of Klengel prior to a few days ago. I especially recommend the C# minor and the Gb/F# major of Book 1. I haven't listened to Book 2 yet. I can't tell if those recordings are done by a real person... they sound computer generated to me, and usually too fast.

[liszt-and-the-galops]

When I search for him, the only thing I seem to find is this Piano Trio:

Unfortunately, the vast majority of piano composers and compositions from before the contemporary era have been long forgotten or simply lost to time.

[swilliams002]

Yeah, I haven't listened to much of his chamber music. He's mostly known today (by the few who know him) for his canons and fugues. From what I've heard so far they are quite good. He was a student of Clementi, who also has some great canons and fugues (albeit not nearly as many as Klengel).

[swilliams002]

The more I listen to these works, especially Book 2, the more I'm convinced this is a masterpiece. Highly recommend!

[plop_symphony]

Wow, another A.A. Klengel enthusiast! I was fortunately sent a copy of his first 24 canons from 1841, which completes the two sets of canons and fugues that are available on IMSLP. I think the recordings are at least partially computer generated - the website they're on openly admits this, because it's part of a musicology project. I don't know of any live recordings. I think these are brilliant pieces and would love to hear a live performance, but I'm still years away from being able to approach these pieces.

[swilliams002]

Wow, another A.A. Klengel enthusiast! I was fortunately sent a copy of his first 24 canons from 1841, which completes the two sets of canons and fugues that are available on IMSLP. I think the recordings are at least partially computer generated - the website they're on openly admits this, because it's part of a musicology project. I don't know of any live recordings. I think these are brilliant pieces and would love to hear a live performance, but I'm still years away from being able to approach these pieces.

I don't understand how he's so overlooked, except I guess the lack of extensive music in other genres causes him to be passed over by non-pianists. I'm currently taking a break from playing as I recover from tendonitis, but I plan to incorporate Klengel's canons and fugues into my repertoire once I'm back to performing.