Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
Performer: Andreas Staier
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Harmonia Mundi
Catalogue: HMM90268081
Release: 2023
Size: 2.37 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, BWV 846-869
CD 01
01. Prelude in C Major, BWV 846
02. Fugue in C Major, BWV 846
03. Prelude in C Minor, BWV 847
04. Fugue in C Minor, BWV 847
05. Prelude in C-Sharp Major, BWV 848
06. Fugue in C-Sharp Major, BWV 848
07. Prelude in C-Sharp Minor, BWV 849
08. Fugue in C-Sharp Minor, BWV 849
09. Prelude in D Major, BWV 850
10. Fugue in D Major, BWV 850
11. Prelude in D Minor, BWV 851
12. Fugue in D Minor, BWV 851
13. Prelude in E-Flat Major, BWV 852
14. Fugue in E-Flat Major, BWV 852
15. Prelude in E-Flat Minor, BWV 853
16. Fugue in D-Sharp Minor, BWV 853
17. Prelude in E Major, BWV 854
18. Fugue in E Major, BWV 854
19. Prelude in E Minor, BWV 855
20. Fugue in E Minor, BWV 855
21. Prelude in F Major, BWV 856
22. Fugue in F Major, BWV 856
23. Prelude in F Minor, BWV 857
24. Fugue in F Minor, BWV 857
CD 02
01. Prelude in F-Sharp Major, BWV 858
02. Fugue in F-Sharp Major, BWV 858
03. Prelude in F-Sharp Minor, BWV 859
04. Fugue in F-Sharp Minor, BWV 859
05. Prelude in G Major, BWV 860
06. Fugue in G Major, BWV 860
07. Prelude in G Minor, BWV 861
08. Fugue in G Minor, BWV 861
09. Prelude in A-Flat Major, BWV 862
10. Fugue in A-Flat Major, BWV 862
11. Prelude in G-Sharp Minor, BWV 863
12. Fugue in G-Sharp Minor, BWV 863
13. Prelude in A Major, BWV 864
14. Fugue in A Major, BWV 864
15. Prelude in A Minor, BWV 865
16. Fugue in A Minor, BWV 865
17. Prelude in B-Flat Major, BWV 866
18. Fugue in B-Flat Major, BWV 866
19. Prelude in B-Flat Minor, BWV 867
20. Fugue in B-Flat Minor, BWV 867
21. Prelude in B Major, BWV 868
22. Fugue in B Major, BWV 868
23. Prelude in B Minor, BWV 869
24. Fugue in B Minor, BWV 869
This performance of Book I of Bach’s Wohltemperierte Clavier (“Well-Tempered Clavier”) was recorded in the spring and summer of 2021, about a year after keyboardist Andreas Staier recorded the second part; clearly, he knew he had a hit on his hands. Staier uses the same modern copy of a 1734 German Hass harpsichord that he used for Book II and that he previously used in his recording of the Goldberg Variations, BWV 988. It is a mighty instrument, with a resonant top and such a variety of registers that one might easily think one was listening to several different harpsichords. Staier exploits the differences among the registers effectively, matching them to the qualities of the individual pieces. These qualities are less abstract than the paired titles of Prelude and Fugue might suggest; traces of dances, of the French overture, of pastoral sounds, and more course through the set, and Staier’s moods shift accordingly. The bass lines are unusually powerful by any standard of harpsichord music. Staier is very closely miked by Harmonia Mundi’s engineers, working at Berlin’s Teldex studio — perhaps too closely miked, but this does not detract from a performance of the familiar Well-Tempered Clavier that immediately grabs one’s attention with its force. The album landed on classical best-seller charts in early 2023.