In contrast to the iron discipline Bach had to apply to his church compositions, here he could abandon himself to intellectual Spielerei without worrying about deadlines. Furthermore, it is an unnecessarily complicated key, as instead of seven sharps you could use five flats to write exactly the same pitch – as D-flat major. The Well-Tempered Clavier, BWV 846–893, is a collection of two sets of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys, composed for solo keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach. (More on temperaments in a later essay.). He titled it simply "Twenty-four Preludes and Fugues" with no reference to the well-tempered clavier. The first part of the Wohltemperirte Clavier dates from 1722, although it contains some music that was written in the preceding five years. Bach was clearly more in line with Johann Mattheson, who predicted in 1719 that in a couple of hundred years’ time musicians would be playing C-sharp major just as easily as the village organists of the time played C major. Difficult, mysterious and problematic, in other words. Here, Bach is deliberately toying with the mind of the keyboard player, as the instinctive correspondence between the black noteheads on the paper and the fingers on the keys no longer works. The Well-Tempered Clavier is one of the most important foundational keyboard works ever composed. But Bach was not the only composer to write a piece called ‘The Well-Tempered Clavier’! It is the most impossible key in the whole of the Wohltemperirte Clavier: C-sharp major. In Bach's time Clavier (keyboard) was a generic name indicating a variety of keyboard instruments, most typically a harpsichord or clavichord – but not excluding an organ. Two sources for scores were used. Learn about "The Well-Tempered Clavier" by Baroque German composer, J. S. Bach. Watch our world premiere video stream below as pianist Jeremy Denk explores Bach’s life and his most iconic work, kicking off his artist-in-residence series at The Greene Space at WQXR. Bach‘s clavier works is the famous set of preludes and fugues known as the Well-Tempered Clavier. Please help us to complete the musical heritage of Bach, by supporting us with a donation! Ten years ago Angela Hewitt recorded a version of The Well-Tempered Clavier Book I which dazzled the critical world and record-buying public. I will be honest, I should have learned these works in high school and college. This idea of writing music in every major and minor key has been copied by a number of composers, particularly in the Romantic and Contemporary eras of Western concert music. Songs start at $0.99. A difficult, mysterious and problematic key. Bach's famous composition "Das wohltemperierte Klavier", The Well-Tempered Clavier It's hard to imagine too many other musicians with as varied a career and as diverse a set of repertoire as pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy. I didn’t have a well-defined purpose, and I definitely wasn’t meeting my potential. The easiest Prelude is perhaps the one in C major, No.1 from Book 1. Beginning in mid-March, I have been without steady work. The Well-Tempered Clavier (German: Das Wohltemperierte Klavier), [1] BWV 846–893, is a collection of solo keyboard music composed by Johann Sebastian Bach.He gave the title to a book of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys, dated 1722, composed "for the profit and use of musical youth desirous of learning, and especially for the pastime of those already skilled in this study". Tonight, join Denk for analysis and interpretation as he takes a deep dive into four of the most fascinating moments from Book 1 of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. There are 2 books (volumes). - Well Tempered refers to the new tuning system for keyboard instruments that allows for pieces to be written in any key - Clavier is the German word for any keyboard instrument other than organ And we can’t complete the task without the financial support of our patrons. The Well-Tempered Clavier is a neat portrait of a teenage crush as a whirlwind of uncertainty and possibility, a rush of love (o At the age of seventeen, Kim fell for India James, his beautiful young piano teacher — and, somewhat to his surprise, found his affection reciprocated. . In addition to the topics of these works, I will be writing some essays on performance, technical strategies, musical ephemera, and personal stories. There is less clarity about the history of part two. It's twin sibling, the preceding Prelude, however, is another story. No fewer than seven sharps adorn the beginning of each staff. Before the outbreak of Covid-19, I had booked several concerts for local schools, a performance trip to Chicago, a potential trip to Florida to play some piano four-hands works with a great friend, a musical, a benefit concert (performed 3 times in a single day), and a few weddings and local entertainment gigs. "The Well-Tempered Clavier" received positive reviews from critics. Das Wohltemperirte Clavier, BWV 846-893Composing 48 keyboard pieces in all 24 keys was the sort of challenge Bach enjoyed. Each prelude and fugue pair will be recorded on a different keyboard instrument and shared, along with profiles on each of the instruments used. Preview, buy, and download songs from the album Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, including "The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude No. Exploring every major and minor key in an exhaustive manner, it was initially extremely innovative and has stood the test of time. Well-tempered clavier spans a huge range. 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