J S Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier - Francesco Cera, harpsichord

J S Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier - Francesco Cera, harpsichord

CDS7997.04 (Dynamic srl, CD, 4 discs)

DDD
FIRST RELEASE (15 September 2023)

Playing time: 64'00"/61'45"/66'28"/77'18" - TT 269'31"
Tracks: 12 + 12 + 12 + 12
Booklet pages: 20
℗ 2023 Dynamic srl
© 2023 Dynamic srl
Main country of recording: Italy
Country of manufacture: Austria
Reviewer: Endre Anaru
Review of J S Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier - Francesco Cera, harpsichord published on 8 November 2023

Francesco Cera, harpsichord (Daniele M Giani 2019, after Henri Hemsch 1736)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750):

The Well-Tempered Clavier

Book I, BWV 846-869

CD1

1 Prelude and Fugue No 1 in C
2 Prelude and Fugue No 2 in C minor
3 Prelude and Fugue No 3 in C sharp
4 Prelude and Fugue No 4 in C sharp minor
5 Prelude and Fugue No 5 in D
6 Prelude and Fugue No 6 in D minor
7 Prelude and Fugue No 7 in E flat
8 Prelude and Fugue No 8 in E flat minor
9 Prelude and Fugue No 9 in E
10 Prelude and Fugue No 10 in E minor
11 Prelude and Fugue No 11 in F
12 Prelude and Fugue No 12 in F minor

CD2

1 Prelude and Fugue No 13 in F sharp
2 Prelude and Fugue No 14 in F sharp minor
3 Prelude and Fugue No 15 in G
4 Prelude and Fugue No 16 in G minor
5 Prelude and Fugue No 17 in A flat
6 Prelude and Fugue No 18 in G sharp minor
7 Prelude and Fugue No 19 in A
8 Prelude and Fugue No 20 in A minor
9 Prelude and Fugue No 21 in B flat
10 Prelude and Fugue No 22 in B flat minor
11 Prelude and Fugue No 23 in B
12 Prelude and Fugue No 24 in B minor

Book 2, BWV 870-893

CD3

1 Prelude and Fugue No 1 in C
2 Prelude and Fugue No 2 in C minor
3 Prelude and Fugue No 3 in C sharp
4 Prelude and Fugue No 4 in C sharp minor
5 Prelude and Fugue No 5 in D
6 Prelude and Fugue No 6 in D minor
7 Prelude and Fugue No 7 in E flat
8 Prelude and Fugue No 8 in E flat minor
9 Prelude and Fugue No 9 in E
10 Prelude and Fugue No 10 in E minor
11 Prelude and Fugue No 11 in F
12 Prelude and Fugue No 12 in F minor

CD4

1 Prelude and Fugue No 13 in F sharp
2 Prelude and Fugue No 14 in F sharp minor
3 Prelude and Fugue No 15 in G
4 Prelude and Fugue No 16 in G minor
5 Prelude and Fugue No 17 in A flat
6 Prelude and Fugue No 18 in G sharp minor
7 Prelude and Fugue No 19 in A
8 Prelude and Fugue No 20 in A minor
9 Prelude and Fugue No 21 in B flat
10 Prelude and Fugue No 22 in B flat minor
11 Prelude and Fugue No 23 in B
12 Prelude and Fugue No 24 in B minor

Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier was written at a time when composers had begun to expand the limited tonal compass of keyboard instruments through far wider use of keys and, ultimately, equal temperament. The forty-eight preludes and fugues that constitute The Well-Tempered Clavier are composed in a wide range of styles, and the work remains one of the most important and influential in Western classical music. Francesco Cera is a prominent Italian early music specialist and he plays on a copy of a Hemsch harpsichord of 1736, using his own personal tuning. For Book II he employs the Altnickol edition of the score which includes numerous variants.