The Well-Tempered Clavier: Books I and II, Complete

by Johann Sebastian Bach

"His art was of an encyclopedic nature, drawing together and surmounting the techniques, the styles, and the general achievements of his own and earlier generations and leading to a new perspective." — Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians .
This informed assessment of the genius of Bach's works can be applied with greatest accuracy to The Well-Tempered Clavier. This highly influential work is monumental in the history of Western music. It represents not only the culmination of Bach's own maturation process, but also the galvanization of the emerging style and structure of modern keyboard music.
The grace and fecundity of The Well-Tempered Clavier have thrilled audiences, musicians, and composers for centuries. Mozart, when rapidly advancing to the height of his mastery, had but to read a manuscript copy of The Well-Tempered Clavier and his style developed a new polyphonic richness and depth of harmony. Beethoven studied all the accessible works of Bach profoundly (including The Well-Tempered Clavier ) and frequently quoted them in his sketchbooks, often with direct bearing on his own works. Chopin is nowhere more characteristic than when he shows his love of The Well-Tempered Clavier in his Etudes and Preludes. It was Schumann who, in a series of maxims for young musicians, said "Make The Well-Tempered Clavier your daily bread."
This remarkable volume contains all 48 preludes and fugues, from Books I and II, in all major keys, reproduced directly from the authoritative Bach-Gesellschaft edition. The fine engraving is beautiful, clear, and easy to read. These elegant pieces, which vary in difficulty, are available complete in one low-cost, convenient Dover edition.

Genres: Music, Scores, Classical Music

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1938

About the author

German composer Johann Sebastian Bach of the late baroque period wrote more than two hundred cantatas, the Saint Matthew Passion , the Mass in B Minor , orchestras, such as the six Brandenburg Concertos , chamber ensembles, and numerous works for organ, harpsichord, other solo instruments and fathered noted Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, and Johann Christian Bach.

Spanish guitarist Andrés Segovia arranged his works.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_...

Reviews

[Joel Corney · Rating 5 out of 5]

It turned out that playing/blundering through a prelude-and-fugue a day was a bit ambitious ... the 48 day tour turned into a six month adventure. Can't wait to go back and explore it all again.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I own the Schirmer edition of the Well-Tempered Clavier Books 1 and 2, and I love it. The fingering suggestions are excellent. There are a few intermediate pieces in here, but this is mostly for the advanced piano player. The Preludes are gorgeous, and the three voices in the fugues are an absolute delight.

[Viv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually it's the Associated Board book edited by Tovey but I want to start listing my music as a way of sorting it out and practising any unlearned music I have lurking in my filing cabinet. There might be some stuff for sale too.

[Kimberly Willson - St. Clair · Rating 5 out of 5]

The praeludiums (sp?) are a lot of fun if you play them slowly and not to Bach's time! He really works out the fourth finger in one and five. That is as far as I am in the book right now....

[Sartor · Rating 5 out of 5]

See www.larips.com for an explanation of Bach's temperament (wohl, nicht egal!).

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bach was a Genius...