Johann Sebastian Bach
The Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1
About Johann Sebastian Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1
Each of the two volumes of the Well-tempered Clavier contains one prelude and one fugue in every major and minor key. Often called “the 48”, or the “Old Testament” of piano music (the new being Beethoven’s sonatas) it is perhaps the most important keyboard work of all time, and something that every pianist and every composer must tackle in one way or another – Chopin’s obvious allusion to the C major prelude BWV 846 in his Study Op. 10 no 1 is but one illustration of this.
The preludes are very varied in style and often deal with a specific technical feature, while the fugues are remarkable for their wide range of contrapuntal techniques and modes of expression.
The title suggests that Bach intended a well-tempered tuning system which gives a single instrument the ability to play in all 24 keys.
The opposing system in Bach´s day was meantone temperament in which keys with many accidentals sound out of tune.
Forum posts about the The Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Help with repertoire by alux9
Hi guys, i haven't been playing classical music for like 2 years but i still have the tecnical aspect with me and I would like some sugg...
College Audition Repitoire Selection by charles-piano
Hi everyone, I am working on selecting pieces for my college audition. I have over six months to prepare. The requirements are: Bach Prelud...
Which pieces do you think are the bare minimum to play to master the instrument? by anacrusis
Hey y'all, this is a half serious question that I thought could be fun to speculate around. I'm thinking a bit about which pieces yo...
What pieces to listen to by lilyng
Hello everyone This is my first post on this forum :) I'm an intermediate pianist (I think? I've been learning piano for 6 years n...
Bach Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1, complete, using Hans Zimmer Piano vst. by johnlewisgrant
Hans Zimmer Piano doing Bach's Well-tempered Clavier, Book 1, complete. I've made some major revisions since I last posted this ...
A full recital (one hour) by andhow04
dear everyone, here is the link to my full video-recital, Poets of the Piano: Contrasts which premiered on youtube yesterday. in the descri...
complete Well-tempered sequenced by johnlewisgrant
This is near the end of my time analyzing the preludes and fugues Sequencing helps in some instances. I definitely think about these ...
Glenn Gould vs. András Schiff by bachforlife
Just like the title, this is a topic asking for your opinions on Gould and Schiff and who plays Bach better. Everyone's taste is differ...
Favourite Bach Preludes and Fugues? by ggrant4569
Hello. I'm pretty new to learning Bach pieces, and I'm looking at some of his WTC Preludes and Fugues to learn. I've already ...
Need suggestion to a Bach fugue by sandvik
I have played piano for quite a while, but have never really played any Bach, and I am not very familiar with the pieces in Bach's book...
Well-tempered Clavier, Book 1, complete by johnlewisgrant
I've completed to my satisfaction what might be called a "sound sculpted" reading of Book 1 of Bach's Well-tempered Clav...
The Well-tempered Clavier, Grade levels by johnlewisgrant
Is there a comprehensive list of the grade level for of each of the preludes and fugues (as pairs) Books 1 and 2? Nothing obvious reve...
Repertoire and orientation by alux9
Hi guys, i have been playing for 4 years exatcly now, and i've been wondering if you guys could help me with repertoire guidance, i had...
Well-tempered Clavier, by computer analysis by johnlewisgrant
Completed Book 1 and 2 (in truth, these can never really be "completed"), using midi as an analytical tool to knit voices together...
Newbie BS by pencilart3
I'm a long time pianostreet-er. I'm aware there were generations before me but I've been here since 2014 (hard to believe sin...