J. S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier I (2CD)

Trevor Pinnock is not only renowned worldwide as both conductor and harpsichord virtuoso, but is revered as one of the pioneers of historically informed performance practice. He founded The English Concert in 1972 and together they spearheaded the revival of Early Music performance on period instruments. Pinnock directed The English Concert for over thirty years, during which time they made many highly acclaimed recordings for DG/Archiv Produktion, highlights including Handel’s Messiah, Bach’sBrandenburg Concertos and Orchestral Suites and Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons.

MORE INFORMATION

The title page of The Well-Tempered Clavier Book I outlines the work’s purpose: it was created for the “profit and use of musical young people who are curious to learn, and also as a special pastime for those already skilled in this study”. Following reports of Bach’s own intuitive approach to tuning which allowed an instrument to be used in all keys, Trevor Pinnock adopts a “well-tempered” unequal temperament which sounds well in all keys but retains some variation of key colour.

For his recording, he chose a trusted companion – a copy of a harpsichord by the Franco-German builder Henri Hemsch tuned to the low pitch prevalent in Köthen during Bach’s time there and which, Pinnock says, “has a unique voice which combines a singing quality with enough clarity to allow Bach’s part-writing to shine”.

TRACK LIST

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685–1750)
The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I
Das Wohltemperierte Clavier, Teil I
CD 1 
Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 846 in C major · C-Dur
1 Praeludium I 2:17
2 Fuga I 2:14
Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 847 in C minor · c-Moll
3 Praeludium II 1:35
4 Fuga II 1:37
Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 848 in C sharp major · Cis-Dur
5 Praeludium III 1:27
6 Fuga III 2:26
Praeludium & Fuga (a 5 voci) BWV 849 in C sharp minor · cis-Moll
7 Praeludium IV 2:42
8 Fuga IV 4:36
Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 850 in D major · D-Dur
9 Praeludium V 1:16
10 Fuga V 1:47
Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 851 in D minor · d-Moll
11 Praeludium VI 1:28
12 Fuga VI 2:09
Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 852 in E flat major · Es-Dur
13 Praeludium VII 5:03
14 Fuga VII 1:53
Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 853 in E flat minor/D sharp minor · es-Moll/dis-Moll
15 Praeludium VIII 3:04
16 Fuga VIII 6:26
Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 854 in E major · E-Dur
17 Praeludium IX 1:31
18 Fuga IX 1:22
Praeludium & Fuga (a 2 voci) BWV 855 in E minor · e-Moll
19 Praeludium X 2:13
20 Fuga X 1:23
Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 856 in F major · F-Dur
21 Praeludium XI 1:06
22 Fuga XI 1:18
Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 857 in F minor · f-Moll
23 Praeludium XII 2:00
24 Fuga XII 4:27
 
CD 2 
Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 858 in F sharp major · Fis-Dur
1 Praeludium XIII 1:23
2 Fuga XIII 2:19
Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 859 in F sharp minor · fis-Moll
3 Praeludium XIV 1:13
4 Fuga XIV 2:43
Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 860 in G major · G-Dur
5 Praeludium XV 1:04
6 Fuga XV 2:50
Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 861 in G minor · g-Moll
7 Praeludium XVI 1:54
8 Fuga XVI 2:49
Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 862 in A flat major · As-Dur
9 Praeludium XVII 1:25
10 Fuga XVII 2:51
Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 863 in G sharp minor · gis-Moll
11 Praeludium XVIII 1:44
12 Fuga XVIII 3:11
Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 864 in A major · A-Dur
13 Praeludium XIX 1:29
14 Fuga XIX 2:21
Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 865 in A minor · a-Moll
15 Praeludium XX 1:15
16 Fuga XX 4:15
Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 866 in B flat major · B-Dur
17 Praeludium XXI 1:16
18 Fuga XXI 1:51
Praeludium & Fuga (a 5 voci) BWV 867 in B flat minor · b-Moll
19 Praeludium XXII 3:33
20 Fuga XXII 3:17
Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 868 in B major · H-Dur
21 Praeludium XXIII 0:59
22 Fuga XXIII 2:27
Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 869 in B minor · h-Moll
23 Praeludium XXIV. Andante 5:03
24 Fuga XXIV. Largo 7:21
 
TREVOR PINNOCK harpsichord