The Well-Tempered Clavier Books I & II, BWV 846-893

PRODUKTBESCHREIBUNGEN
PRODUKTBESCHREIBUNGEN
BACH AND WOODWARD: AN HOUR OF TRUTH When a musician of the rank and status of Roger Woodward decides to record Bach's complete Well-Tempered Clavier at the age of 65, one could see a symbolic connection here, keeping in mind that Bach passed away at 65; the pianist senses responsibility for the continuation of tradition. Moreover, Woodward sees an additional obligation to add new life to the music through his unique style of interpretation. With this, he is in the best of company indeed: It had been pointed out repeatedly--since his release of BWV 903, the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue--that Woodward's Bach is the most exciting since Glenn Gould. However, one ought not to misunderstand Woodward as iconoclast; his understanding of Bach is minted by tradition and above all respectful, especially showing such respect to those who set standards during the first century of recording technology. Although Woodward named it 'a defining moment' when he received the first finished copies of his Well-Tempered Clavier, he hastens to point out that one has to see him as the eternal student whose search for truth in music cannot end. If one compares Woodward's reference recording of both books of Debussy's Préludes (Celestial Harmonies 13279-2) with his complete recording of both books of the Well-Tempered Clavier on 5 CDs, one winds up with the identical understanding of the works albeit having traveled in opposite directions. Was it Woodward's intention to find the structure (Woodward says 'the geometry') in Debussy, taking passion as a given, so is his way to Bach the reverse: He accepts the structure as a given and embarks on the search for passion. In both instances, one receives as the result a balanced however passionate interpretation where structure and expression exist with equal rights, as should be the case in all great music. It is something like the heart of great Flamenco: The ideal and complete merging of total discipline and precision with the passion which only can give true life to music. When Woodward was searching for the 'sacred cantilena' in Chopin's Nocturnes (Celestial Harmonies 14260-2), he rests his search for a fleeting moment with the 'legato cantabile' which can only be played as such on a modern grand piano (here a Hamburg Steinway D, dating from the early 1980s). Surely what Woodward said about Hans Otte and his 48-part magnum opus 'Book of Hours' (Celestial Harmonies 13259-2) is equally true in the case of Bach: That some music doesn't open up through practice alone but ultimately only through reflection as it is philosophy in the end. The complete edition of both books of the Well-Tempered Clavier on 5 CDs contains an 80-page essay by Roger Woodward, 'In Search of a Performance Practice', in German and English as well as the autographs of both books as high-quality facsimiles; for the first time, the lost pages have been replaced by contemporary music-set versions, based on the best available printed editions. It is thus the most complete publication of the Well-Tempered Clavier ever. Woodward had--whenever performance issues surfaced--throughout the recording process always consulted the autographs as the first and last instance. Finally, it is the first-ever recording of an Australian musician of the complete work for international release.

BIOGRAPHIE DER MITWIRKENDEN
Currently resident in San Francisco, Roger Woodward performs with the Leipzig Gewandhaus, New York, Los Angeles and Israel Philharmonics, Orchestre de Paris, the Cleveland Orchestra, London orchestras and European Community Gustav Mahler Jugend-orchester, with conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Paavo Berglund, Pierre Boulez, Charles Dutoit, Eliahu Inbal, James Judd, Eric Leinsdorf, Lorin Maazel, Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Roger Norrington, Kurt Masur, Zubin Mehta, Witold Rowicki, Walter Susskind, Georg Tintner, Edo de Waart, and Hans Zender.

Disc 1
1: Prelude No. 1 in C Major, BWV 846
2: Fugue No. 1 in C Major, BWV846
3: Prelude No. 2 in C Minor, BWV847
4: Fugue No. 2 in C Minor, BWV847
5: Prelude No. 3 in C Sharp Major, BWV848
6: Fugue No. 3 in C Sharp Major, BWV 848
7: Prelude No. 4 in C Sharp Minor, BWV 849
8: Fugue No. 4 in C Sharp Minor, BWV 849
9: Prelude No. 5 in D Major, BWV850
10: Fugue No. 5 in D Major, BWV 850
11: Prelude No. 6 in D Minor, BWV 851
12: Fugue No. 6 in D Minor, BWV 851
13: Prelude No. 7 in E Flat Major, BWV852
14: Fugue No. 7 in E Flat Major, BWV852
15: Prelude No. 8 in E Flat Minor, BWV853
16: Fugue No. 8 in D Sharp Minor, BWV 853
17: Prelude No. 9 in E Major, BWV854
18: Fugue No. 9 in E Major, BWV 854
19: Prelude No. 10 in E Minor, BWV855
20: Fugue No. 10 in E Minor, BWV 855
21: Prelude No. 11 in F Major, BWV 856
22: Fugue No. 11 in F Major, BWV 856
23: Prelude No. 12 in F Minor, BWV857
24: Fugue No. 12 in F Minor, BWV 857

Disc 2
25: Prelude No. 13 in F Sharp Major, BWV858
26: Fugue No. 13 in F Sharp Major, BWV 858
27: Prelude No. 14 in F Sharp Minor, BWV859
28: Fugue No. 14 in F Sharp Minor, BWV 859
29: Prelude No. 15 in G Major, BWV860
30: Fugue No. 15 in G Major, BWV 860
31: Prelude No. 16 in G Minor, BWV 861
32: Fugue No. 16 in G Minor, BWV 861
33: Prelude No. 17 in a Flat Major, BWV862
34: Fugue No. 17 in a Flat Major, BWV 862
35: Prelude No. 18 in G Sharp Minor, BWV887
36: Fugue No. 18 in G Sharp Minor, BWV887
37: Prelude No. 19 in a Major, BWV864
38: Fugue No. 19 in a Major, BWV 864
39: Prelude No. 20 in a Minor, BWV865
40: Fugue No. 20 in a Minor, BWV 865
41: Prelude No. 21 in B Flat Major, BWV866
42: Fugue No. 21 in B Flat Major, BWV 866
43: Prelude No. 22 in B Flat Minor, BWV 867
44: Fugue No. 22 in B Flat Minor, BWV 867
45: Prelude No. 23 in B Major, BWV 868
46: Fugue No. 23 in B Major, BWV 868
47: Prelude No. 24 in B Minor, BWV869
48: Fugue No. 24 in B Minor, BWV 869

Disc 3
49: Prelude No. 1 in C Major, BWV870
50: Fugue No. 1 in C Major, BWV870
51: Prelude No. 2 in C Minor, BWV871
52: Fugue No. 2 in C Minor, BWV871
53: Prelude No. 3 in C Sharp Major, BWV872
54: Fugue No. 3 in C Sharp Major, BWV872
55: Prelude No. 4 in C Sharp Minor, BWV873
56: Fugue No. 4 in C Sharp Minor, BWV873
57: Prelude No. 5 in D Major, BWV874
58: Fugue No. 5 in D Major, BWV874
59: Prelude No. 6 in D Minor, BWV875
60: Fugue No. 6 in D Minor, BWV875
61: Prelude No. 7 in E Flat Major, BWV876
62: Fugue No. 7 in E Flat Major, BWV876
63: Prelude No. 8 in D Sharp Minor, BWV877
64: Fugue No. 8 in D Sharp Minor, BWV877

Disc 4
65: Prelude No. 9 in E Major, BWV878
66: Fugue No. 9 in E Major, BWV878
67: Prelude No. 10 in E Minor, BWV879
68: Fugue No. 10 in E Minor, BWV879
69: Prelude No. 11 in F Major, BWV880
70: Fugue No. 11 in F Major, BWV880
71: Prelude No. 12 in F Minor, BWV881
72: Fugue No. 12 in F Minor, BWV881
73: Prelude No. 13 in F Sharp Major, BWV882
74: Fugue No. 13 in F Sharp Major, BWV882
75: Prelude No. 14 in F Sharp Minor, BWV883
76: Fugue No. 14 in F Sharp Minor, BWV883
77: Prelude No. 15 in G Major, BWV884
78: Fugue No. 15 in G Major, BWV884
79: Prelude No. 16 in G Minor, BWV885
80: Fugue No. 16 in G Minor, BWV885

Disc 5
81: Prelude No. 17 in a Flat Major, BWV886
82: Fugue No. 17 in a Flat Major, BWV886
83: Prelude No. 18 in G Sharp Minor, BWV887
84: Fugue No. 18 in G Sharp Minor, BWV887
85: Prelude No. 19 in a Major, BWV888
86: Fugue No. 19 in a Major, BWV888
87: Prelude No. 20 in a Minor, BWV889
88: Fugue No. 20 in a Minor, BWV889
89: Prelude No. 21 in B Flat Major, BWV890
90: Fugue No. 21 in B Flat Major, BWV890
91: Prelude No. 22 in B Flat Minor, BWV891
92: Fugue No. 22 in B Flat Minor, BWV891
93: Prelude No. 23 in B Major, BWV892
94: Fugue No. 23 in B Major, BWV892
95: Prelude No. 24 in B Minor, BWV893
96: Fugue No. 24 in B Minor, BWV893

Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

Number of Discs: 5

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK within 48 hours of receipt during working hours.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-5 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 21 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.