“Contrapunctus 2” is very much like the first fugue except for a single alteration in rhythm. It might be inaudible to some listeners. But what Bach does with it is fashion a different fugue construction. It is at this point that one senses a seat belt might be in order.
I will say that these little nuances are what drew me to the project and gave me the idea to see just what made these fugues work. I began the process by graphing every note of every fugue. This was in 1984-85 before computers were handy for most of us. The graphing gave me a sense of the music I could not get any other way, and it gave me a kind of visual road map. It was the first connection between sound and sight albeit in a rather analytical context.
