Bach’s counterpoint in my view is never other than a figurate realization of the bass, a "virtual counterpoint" that has more to do with harmony and rhythm than with historical polyphony. If Michelangelo could claim that his sculpture was only a process of elimination — in which he merely brought into high relief that which already existed in the mass of stone — then much the same can be said for Bach, whose counterpoint only brings into high relief that which already exists within the mass of harmony. © F. Morana, 1999