On The Theme of B.A.C.H

oward the end of his life, Bach assembled a series of monumental fugue compositions that later known as The Art of Fugue. The last fugue (number 14) is left unfinished due to the composer died before he managed to write down the rest. In this very last piece, known as Contrapunctus XIV  "The Unfinished Fugue", is where Bach inserted his own family name: B, A, C and H (German letter notation calls the B-flat as B and B-natural as H). It was his way to sign his name in music. A fugue is a composition technique that consists two or more voices (in the case of The Art of Fugue, mostly in four voices). This artwork is based on that piece.

The four letters that serve as the centerpiece of this artwork not only represent the composer but also the musical notation of his name, separated by the diamond shapes that serve as hyphens or comma. Beneath each letter is the musical notation that indicates them.

The letters are surrounded by 4 large circular filigrees. These filigrees represent the four-part voices: soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. These filigree lines weave in and out of each other. They complement and in harmonious interaction with other voices, just like the musical composition. It swoops up and down. It turns on itself. It has ornamentation in form of acanthus leaves. It grows from a single line to a more complex shape with multiple lines going on simultaneously. All these visual representations can also be found in the musical characteristic. It is the perfect embodiment of the masterpiece.

The four corners are adorned with ornamented forms of musical instruments: the violin, piano, horn, and oboe. Bach has never indicated a specific instrument for the composition, thus leaving it open for any kind of instrument to perform it. Thus this artwork also indicates this fascinating fact to us by offering these instruments that represent a different family. The violin for the strings family (The Art of Fugue is often performed by a string quartet). The piano for the keyboard family (It can be performed on an authentically Baroque which is the harpsichord, organ, or the modern piano). The horn for the brass and the oboe for the woodwind family. They all work just as beautifully.

The design comes in three color variants: Slate Grey, Golden Sand, and Navy Blue. Each with its own treatment of letter outline. The Slate Grey has dark grey fill and letter outline, the Golden Sand has only the letterform. The Navy Blue has white outline and fill. The premium treatment of this artwork comes with hand gilded letters done with 24-karat gold. The letters are raised slightly to in order to have an impressive light play that is reflected by the gold. The gilding is then burnished to achieve mirror-like reflection. The gold shines brilliantly when viewed in person.

The design is also used for Angela Hewitt's recording of the work. Published by Hyperion.