Customer Reviews

BACH:DAS WOHLTEMPERIRTE CLAVIER

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Colin Tilney's playing is excellent. His interpretations are unique, consistent, and stimulating, and the use of clavichord on book 1 is a special novelty, though I would be anxious to hear his harpsichord interpretations of the same pieces. This recording is educative not only for the clavichord/harpsichord comparison, but also because a baroque tuning is used (Kirnberger?), different from equal-temperament such that pieces in different keys really *do* sound different, as Bach intended. (Equal-temperament, the tuning system which is now in fashion, was not in fashion in Bach's time, as the copious program notes discuss.) And, if all you want is some nice background music, this recording is that, too.

Colin Tilney's complete WTC recording sounded so refreshing to me after hearing it numerous times on piano, by such performers as Gould, Schiff, Gulda, and others. Book 1, played on clavichord, leads me, personally, to believe that this is, quite simply, pure clavichord music. While the recorded sound is not the best representation of the clavichord I have heard, (and it must be incredibly difficult to engineer that), after a year of listening I am still captivated by this performance. A small example is the Book 1 prelude in G major. Tilney plays it at a comfortable gigue tempo, unlike Gould and Gulda, who burn through it so fast you can't hear the notes. The piece is reborn, sounding fresh, melodic, even danceable. Many other such suprises await the listener on this great set.

This 4-CD set presents WTC Book I on clavichord and WTC Book II on harpsichord. Both books are presented in circle-of-fifths order, which I find more appropriate for consecutive listening than BWV order.

The period clavichord and harpsichord used are by the same builder, Hass, built just two years apart. They provide a good demonstration of the similarities and differences of the two types of instrument.

WTC Book I works very well on clavichord. It is really instructive to compare this with the many recordings of Book I on harpsichord, or with Tilney's own Book II version on harpsichord (in this set).

This 4-CD set runs over 310 minutes, which means that each CD has almost 80 minutes of music. My two gripes are: (1) Book II begins on the second CD and runs through the fourth, so the books don't break evenly across the CDs. (2) The miking of the clavichord on these CDs (a notoriously difficult task) leaves something to be desired; the recorded sound lacks some of the subtle quality that the performer or those seated by the instrument would hear. Even so, I'm glad I bought this set, and recommend it to anyone interested in the clavichord.

Colin Tilney's playing is excellent. His interpretations are unique, consistent, and stimulating, and the use of clavichord on book 1 is a special novelty, though I would be anxious to hear his harpsichord interpretations of the same pieces. This recording is educative not only for the clavichord/harpsichord comparison, but also because a baroque tuning is used (Kirnberger? Can somebody tell me?), different from equal-temperament such that pieces in different keys really *do* sound different, as Bach intended. (Equal-temperament, the tuning system which is now in fashion, was not in fashion in Bach's time, as the copious program notes discuss.) And, if all you want is some nice background music, this recording is that, too.