Well Tempered Clavier Book 1

Bach (Artist), Edward Aldwell (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 28, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Nonesuch
• ASIN: B000005J10
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,342 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #17 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Improvisation

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. The Well-Tempered Clavier (24), collection of preludes & fugues, Book I, BWV 846-869 (BC L80-103): Prelude In C major

2. The Well-Tempered Clavier (24), collection of preludes & fugues, Book I, BWV 846-869 (BC L80-103): Fugue in C major

3. The Well-Tempered Clavier (24), collection of preludes & fugues, Book I, BWV 846-869 (BC L80-103): Prelude in C minor

4. The Well-Tempered Clavier (24), collection of preludes & fugues, Book I, BWV 846-869 (BC L80-103): Fugue in C minor

5. The Well-Tempered Clavier (24), collection of preludes & fugues, Book I, BWV 846-869 (BC L80-103): Prelude in C sharp major

6. The Well-Tempered Clavier (24), collection of preludes & fugues, Book I, BWV 846-869 (BC L80-103): Fugue in C sharp major

7. The Well-Tempered Clavier (24), collection of preludes & fugues, Book I, BWV 846-869 (BC L80-103): Prelude in C sharp minor

8. The Well-Tempered Clavier (24), collection of preludes & fugues, Book I, BWV 846-869 (BC L80-103): Fugue in C sharp minor

9. The Well-Tempered Clavier (24), collection of preludes & fugues, Book I, BWV 846-869 (BC L80-103): Prelude in D major

10. The Well-Tempered Clavier (24), collection of preludes & fugues, Book I, BWV 846-869 (BC L80-103): Fugue in D major

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. The Well-Tempered Clavier (24), collection of preludes & fugues, Book I, BWV 846-869 (BC L80-103): Prelude in F sharp major

2. The Well-Tempered Clavier (24), collection of preludes & fugues, Book I, BWV 846-869 (BC L80-103): Fugue in F sharp major

3. The Well-Tempered Clavier (24), collection of preludes & fugues, Book I, BWV 846-869 (BC L80-103): Prelude in F sharp minor

4. The Well-Tempered Clavier (24), collection of preludes & fugues, Book I, BWV 846-869 (BC L80-103): Fugue in F sharp minor

5. The Well-Tempered Clavier (24), collection of preludes & fugues, Book I, BWV 846-869 (BC L80-103): Prelude in G major

6. The Well-Tempered Clavier (24), collection of preludes & fugues, Book I, BWV 846-869 (BC L80-103): Fugue in G major

7. The Well-Tempered Clavier (24), collection of preludes & fugues, Book I, BWV 846-869 (BC L80-103): Prelude in G minor

8. The Well-Tempered Clavier (24), collection of preludes & fugues, Book I, BWV 846-869 (BC L80-103): Fugue in G minor

9. The Well-Tempered Clavier (24), collection of preludes & fugues, Book I, BWV 846-869 (BC L80-103): Prelude in A flat major

10. The Well-Tempered Clavier (24), collection of preludes & fugues, Book I, BWV 846-869 (BC L80-103): Fugue in A flat major

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just musical, but knowledgeable too, March 11, 2000

By 

Saul Hymes (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Well Tempered Clavier Book 1 (Audio CD)

I have heard quite a few recordings of The Well Tempered Clavier, and none is quite like this one. Aldwell gives a performance that draws emotion and feeling out of what are lifeless exercises to all too many other performers. His playing is emotional and serene when it needs to be, as in the C major prelude, and fiery and fast as in the C-sharp minor prelude. He definitely has the ability to play this material with virtuosity and verve. More than this, though, is the extraordinary knowledge Aldwell brings to his playing. He is one of the lead music theorists of our time, author of a text that I and many other music students use in class week after week at universities across the country. This theoretical knowledge shows in his playing, as he brings out key melody lines, accentuates certain harmonies, and uses highly appropriate tempi. The fugues are especially magnificent, as their performance truly demands a theoretical knowledge of the music and of the structures of the pieces. Subjects and countersubjects are clear and give this half of the disc what I see as extra performance value. In short, this is an excellent disc with an excellent rendering of some truly wonderful pieces.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Performances of Sensitive Humanity, December 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Well Tempered Clavier Book 1 (Audio CD)

This is a marvelous release. I've never heard WTC:1 sound so light-fingered and humane. Aldwell's lyical use of voice-leading, tempo, rubato, and touch-sensitivity succeed in freeing these often times motor-note pieces from "metronome hell". They really do breathe.

All you have to do is compare Jando's well-reviewed Naxos version of "Prelude in C" with Aldwell's to hear the profound difference between "playing the notes" and "making music". Even with this deceptiveliy simple piece, Aldwell brings a lithe vulnerability to the same arpeggios with which Jando barrels up and down the keyboard in rigid precision. Rest assured that Aldwell's playing throughout WTC:I remains just as intelligent and sensitive to the poetry of Bach's music.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure Poetry, May 27, 2005

By 

L. Harrow (wishing i was on mars) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Well Tempered Clavier Book 1 (Audio CD)

I have owned this set for several years now and the performances never cease to move and amaze me. Mr. Aldwell brings such care and attention to each prelude and fugue, and makes each one into a very special individual. The thought and emotion put into his interpetations show his extreme love for this music. Very highly recommended!