Well-Tempered Clavier I: 48 Preludes and Fugues (BWV 846-869)
Bach, Johann Sebastian
J S Bach Well-Tempered Clavier I: 48 Preludes and Fugues (BWV 846-869) for Keyboard (Piano)
Johann Sebastian Bach's idea of composing a collection of preludes and fugues in all major and minor keys was new and revolutionary in the second decade of the 18th century, particularly when considering that the tuning in use up top then distributed pure and “impure” intervals irregularly throughout the keys. The result was that one could play very well in many keys, but not at all in others. Bach was the first composer to conquer the entire breadth pf tonality in his Das Wohltemperirte Clavier (The Well-Tempered Clavier), thus providing the musical world with a masterpiece of keyboard literature.
”The ‘Well-Tempered Clavier’ is the Old Testament, Beethoven's sonatas the New. We must believe in both.” Hans von Bülow
The preludes and fugues of “The Well-Tempered Clavier” embrace an entire cosmos of compositional devices and musical characters – the “ne plus ultra” of ‘unity through diversity’. Here Bach not only presented the sum total of keyboard artistry in his day but foresaw its future evolution. His treatment of the keys marked a turning point in music history.
Contents
- Prelude and Fugue in C major BWV 846 [Bach, Johann Sebastian]
- Prelude and Fugue in C minor BWV 847 [Bach, Johann Sebastian]
- Prelude and Fugue in C sharp major BWV 848 [Bach, Johann Sebastian]
- Prelude and Fugue in C sharp minor BWV 849 [Bach, Johann Sebastian]
- Prelude and Fugue in D major BWV 850 [Bach, Johann Sebastian]
- Prelude and Fugue in D minor BWV 851 [Bach, Johann Sebastian]
- Prelude and Fugue in E-flat major BWV 852 [Bach, Johann Sebastian]
- Prelude and Fugue E-flat/D sharp minor BWV 853 [Bach, Johann Sebastian]
- Prelude and Fugue in E major BWV 854 [Bach, Johann Sebastian]
- Prelude and Fugue in E minor BWV 855 [Bach, Johann Sebastian]
- Prelude and Fugue in F major BWV 856 [Bach, Johann Sebastian]
- Prelude and Fugue in F minor BWV 857 [Bach, Johann Sebastian]
- Prelude and Fugue in F sharp major BWV 858 [Bach, Johann Sebastian]
- Prelude and Fugue F sharp minor BWV 859 [Bach, Johann Sebastian]
- Prelude and Fugue in G major BWV 860 [Bach, Johann Sebastian]
- Prelude and Fugue in G minor BWV 861 [Bach, Johann Sebastian]
- Prelude and Fugue in A-flat major BWV 862 [Bach, Johann Sebastian]
- Prelude and Fugue in G sharp minor BWV 863 [Bach, Johann Sebastian]
- Prelude and Fugue in A major BWV 864 [Bach, Johann Sebastian]
- Prelude and Fugue in A minor BWV 865 [Bach, Johann Sebastian]
- Prelude and Fugue in B-flat major BWV 866 [Bach, Johann Sebastian]
- Prelude and Fugue in B-flat minor BWV 867 [Bach, Johann Sebastian]
- Prelude and Fugue in B-major BWV 868 [Bach, Johann Sebastian]
- Prelude and Fugue in B minor BWV 869 [Bach, Johann Sebastian]
- Appendix Fugue in D minor BWV 851/2 [Bach, Johann Sebastian]
