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J.S.Bach, Well-Tempered Clavier I

Wim Winters

Label
Мелодия
Catalogue number
353
Number of CDs
3
Format
Digital

This recording of Das Wohltemperierte Klavier, Book I, forms the first part of a two-part project, completed with the accompanying recording of Book II . Together, the two books encompass Bach's monumental exploration of all twenty-four keys — forty-eight preludes and fugues that form the core of the keyboard repertoire. When the two parts are heard side by side, they reveal not only the scope of Bach's design, but also the subtle character differences between the earlier and later book.

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With Book I, Johann Sebastian Bach laid the foundation for a work that would define the possibilities of keyboard music. The cycle, conceived as a systematic exploration of tonal space, is at once pedagogical, experimental, and profoundly expressive — a work written not for abstraction, but for the act of performance itself.

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In 1802, Johann Nikolaus Forkel, Bach's first biographer, made the famous observation that the composer 'preferred to play on the clavichord'. This observation, based on extensive correspondence with Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, points to the exceptional status the clavichord enjoyed in the eighteenth century — an instrument valued not for its projection, but for its refinement, control, and intimacy. Yet this most sensitive keyboard instrument was largely overshadowed in the twentieth century by the harpsichord and later by the fortepiano in performances of Bach's music.

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In hindsight, this development is understandable. New clavichords proved, for a long time, often unable to meet the technical and musical demands of Bach's great oeuvre. As a result, conservatories focused almost exclusively on the harpsichord, while Bach's preferred instrument occupied a marginal position — not because of its limitations, but because of a lack of suitable instruments.

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However, this situation is changing. The clavichords built by Joris Potvlieghe have played a decisive role in the modern revival of the instrument. They offer a compelling answer to the question of why Bach valued this type of keyboard so highly: the direct contact between finger and sound, and the virtually unlimited possibilities for expressive nuance that flow from it. Few instruments offer such precise control over articulation, timing, and intonation.

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This recording of Book I was made on a harpsichord by Joris Potvlieghe (2009), tuned according to Werckmeister's wohl temperierte Harmonia (1707), at a pitch of approximately a' = 400 Hz. These parameters are not presented as historical curiosities, but as practical conditions that enable the music to sound clear and coherent. Tempo, articulation, and touch are guided by the instrument itself, fostering an interpretation in which structure and expression are inseparably connected.

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Rather than viewing Das Wohltemperierte Klavier as a monumental abstraction, this performance approaches each prelude and fugue as living musical discourse. The intimacy of the clavichord brings Bach's compositions into close view, making their rhetorical structure and inner balance clear. What emerges from this is not a reduced or idiosyncratic Bach, but a concentrated one.

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Hopefully, this recording will unlock a part of this musical universe for the listener, as it has for the performer.

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Tracklist

  1. 01 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude No. 1 in C Major, BWV 846/1 01:52
  2. 02 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Fugue No. 1 in C Major, BWV 846/2 01:56
  3. 03 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 847/1 01:30
  4. 04 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Fugue No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 847/2 01:40
  5. 05 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude No. 3 in C-Sharp Major, BWV 848/1 01:13
  6. 06 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Fugue No. 3 in C-Sharp Major, BWV 848/2 02:14
  7. 07 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude No. 4 in C-Sharp Minor, BWV 849/1 02:43
  8. 08 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Fugue No. 4 in C-Sharp Minor, BWV 849/2 04:47
  9. 09 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude No. 5 in D Major, BWV 850/1 01:11
  10. 10 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Fugue No. 5 in D Major, BWV 850/2 01:47
  11. 11 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude No. 6 in D Minor, BWV 851/1 01:25
  12. 12 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Fugue No. 6 in D Minor, BWV 851/2 01:58
  13. 13 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude No. 7 in E-Flat Major, BWV 852/1 03:58
  14. 14 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Fugue No. 7 in E-Flat Major, BWV 852/2 01:39
  15. 15 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude No. 8 in E-Flat Minor, BWV 853/1 03:24
  16. 16 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Fugue No. 8 in E-Flat Minor, BWV 853/2 05:59
  17. 17 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude No. 9 in E Major, BWV 854/1 01:23
  18. 18 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Fugue No. 9 in E Major, BWV 854/2 01:11
  19. 19 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude No. 10 in E Minor, BWV 855/1 02:18
  20. 20 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Fugue No. 12 in F Minor, BWV 857/2 01:10
  21. 21 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Fugue No. 10 in E Minor, BWV 855/2 00:54
  22. 22 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude No. 11 in F Major, BWV 856/1 01:14
  23. 23 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Fugue No. 11 in F Major, BWV 856/2 02:02
  24. 24 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude No. 12 in F Minor, BWV 857/1 03:57
  25. 01 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude No. 13 in F-Sharp Major, BWV 858/1 01:15
  26. 02 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Fugue No. 13 in F-Sharp Major, BWV 858/2 01:52
  27. 03 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude No. 14 in F-Sharp Minor, BWV 859/1 01:03
  28. 04 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Fugue No. 14 in F-Sharp Minor, BWV 859/2 03:28
  29. 05 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude No. 15 in G Major, BWV 860/1 00:56
  30. 06 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Fugue No. 15 in G Major, BWV 860/2 02:52
  31. 07 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude No. 16 in G Minor, BWV 861/1 02:00
  32. 08 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Fugue No. 16 in G Minor, BWV 861/2 02:19
  33. 09 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude No. 17 in A-Flat Major, BWV 862/1 01:33
  34. 10 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Fugue No. 17 in A-Flat Major, BWV 862/2 02:21
  35. 11 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude No. 18 in G-Sharp Minor, BWV 863/1 01:33
  36. 12 The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Fugue No. 18 in G-Sharp Minor, BWV 863/2 02:36
  37. 13 Das Wohltemperierte Klavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: Praeludium 19 01:14
  38. 14 Das Wohltemperierte Klavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: Fuga 19 a 3 02:18
  39. 15 Das Wohltemperierte Klavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: Praeludium 20 01:02
  40. 16 Das Wohltemperierte Klavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: Fuga 20 a 4 03:47
  41. 17 Das Wohltemperierte Klavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: Praeludium 21 01:11
  42. 18 Das Wohltemperierte Klavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: Fuga 21 a 3 01:32
  43. 19 Das Wohltemperierte Klavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: Praeludium 22 03:00
  44. 20 Das Wohltemperierte Klavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: Fuga 22 a 5 03:33
  45. 21 Das Wohltemperierte Klavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: Praeludium 23 01:19
  46. 22 Das Wohltemperierte Klavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: Fuga 23 a 4 02:05
  47. 23 Das Wohltemperierte Klavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: Praeludium 24 05:08
  48. 24 Das Wohltemperierte Klavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: Fuga 24 a 4 07:03

Source: MusicBrainz

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