J.S. Bach - Das wohltemperierte Klavier II, BWV 870-893 (1744)

Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March [O.S. 21 March] 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He is known for instrumental compositions such as the Brandenburg Concertos and the Goldberg Variations as well as for vocal music such as the St Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor. Since the 19th-century Bach Revival he has been generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time. Please support my channel: https://ko-fi.com/bartjebartmans Uploaded with special permission by performer Peter Watchorn https://www.musicaomnia.org Das wohltemperierte Klavier II, BWV 870-893 I1742-1744) Copyist: Johann Christoph Altnikol (1719–1759) Friedrich August Grasnick (1798–1877), listing Unknown Scribes 1. Prelude and Fugue in C major, BWV 870 (0:00 / 2:56) 2. Prelude and Fugue in C minor, BWV 871 (4:59 / 7:49) 3. Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp major, BWV 872 (10:27 / 13:16) 4. Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp minor, BWV 873 (16:03 / 20:31) 5. Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 874 (23:08 / 29:21) 6. Prelude and Fugue in D minor, BWV 875 (33:12 / 35:07) 7. Prelude and Fugue in E-flat major, BWV 876 (37:03 / 40:03) 8. Prelude and Fugue in E-flat minor, BWV 877 (42:03 / 47:01) 9. Prelude and Fugue in E major, BWV 878 (52:02 / 58:48) 10. Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 879 (1:02:51 / (1:07:08) 11. Prelude and Fugue in F major, BWV 880 (1:10:23 / 1:14:05) 12. Prelude and Fugue in F minor, BWV 881 (1:16:15 / 1:22:37) 13. Prelude and Fugue in F-sharp major, BWV 882 (1:25:30 / 1:29:51) 14. Prelude and Fugue in F-sharp minor, BWV 883 (1:32:42 / 1:35:45) 15. Prelude and Fugue in G major, BWV 884 (1:41:47 / 1:44:56) 16. Prelude and Fugue in G minor, BWV 885 (1:46:30 / 1:48:38) 17. Prelude and Fugue in A-flat major, BWV 886 (1:52:01 / 1:56:57) 18. Prelude and Fugue in G-sharp minor, BWV 887 (2:01:07 / 2:06:59) 19. Prelude and Fugue in A major, BWV 888 (2:12:56 / 2:15:01) 20. Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 889 (2:16:32 / 2:23:39) 21. Prelude and Fugue in B-flat major, BWV 890 (2:25:45 / 2:34:12) 22. Prelude and Fugue in B-flat minor, BWV 891 (2:36:24 / 2:39:33) 23. Prelude and Fugue in B major, BWV 892 (2:44:13 / 2:47:07) 24. Prelude and Fugue in B minor, BWV 893 (2:52:32 / 2:55:36) Peter Watchorn on pedal harpsichord (A.R. McAllister, Melbourne 1999 after J. H. Harrass; Hubbard & Broekman, Boston 1990) FOR GREGORY MILLER, WHO FIRST SUGGESTED THIS SERIES The Australian musician Peter Watchorn has studied the harpsichord, its history, repertoire and construction since 1974. From 1977-1987, he was resident harpsichordist and continuo organist for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and recorded extensively for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He has achieved an international reputation for consistently high standards of performance, and in 1985, he was presented with the Erwin Bodky Award for his interpretations of the music of J. S. Bach. In Australia, his initial studies were with Margaret Lloyd and Nancy Salas. From 1985-1992, he worked with Isolde Ahlgrimm in Vienna and wrote extensively about her life and career. His full length biography of her was published in 2007 by Ashgate Publishing (London). Peter Watchorn was a contributing soloist to the 2000 Hänsler Edition Bach-Akademie recording project of the complete works of J. S. Bach. For his own label, Musica Omnia, where he serves as producer and board president, he has embarked on projects devoted to the keyboard output of J. S. Bach and John Bull and other members of the English Virginalist school. He received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Historical Performance from Boston University in 1995. For this recording a large German-style instrument by A. R. McAllister and a pedal harpsichord from the Hubbard & Broekman shop have been used. The harpsichord is derived from the only surviving signed instrument by the famous Saxon builder, Johann Heinrich Harrass (1662-1714) from some time before 1714, the year of Harrass’s death. This instrument is located in Sondershausen, Germany. Another (unsigned) harpsichord survives, also attributed to Harrass on the basis of certain details of construction that are in common with the Sondershausen instrument. This is the celebrated “Berliner Bach-Flügel”, instrument no. 316 in the Berlin Museum, which has at various times been either connected with Bach, or debunked as a fraud. The latest research, by Dieter Krickeberg and Horst Rase, appears to establish a solid connection between the instrument and Bach’s eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann. If this harpsichord stemmed from his collection, then, in all likelihood, given its date and provenance, it was passed down from Johann Sebastian, very likely as the “large” harpsichord mentioned in the composer’s will. There it is described as “fourniert” or veneered. Further details about this temperament are at http://www.larips.com