Hyperion Records | Bach J S: The Well-tempered Clavier I

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CDA67301/2

Buy? £26.98

Recording details: Various dates
Beethovensaal, Hannover, Germany
Produced by Ludger Böckenhoff
Engineered by Ludger Böckenhoff
Release date: September 1998
Total duration: 116 minutes 7 seconds
Available for download on iTunes: Yes

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GRAMOPHONE CRITICS' CHOICE
BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE PICK OF THE MONTH AND BEST OF THE YEAR
PENGUIN GUIDE ROSETTE

'The first recorded performances by a pianist of Book I that have made me want to hear them many times over. Strongly recommended' (Gramophone)

'Angela Hewitt's version of Book I eclipses all others; hers will become the benchmark recording ... special and uniquely enchanting' (BBC Music Magazine)

'The Canadian pianist may not regard herself as a Bach specialist, but her brilliant and profoundly musical playing of the first 24 preludes and fugues of the "48" goes straight to the top of available piano versions' (The Sunday Times)

'Performances of exceptional grace and beauty' (BBC Music Magazine)

'An inspirational set' (The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

The Well-tempered Clavier I

Angela Hewitt (piano)

		Das wohltemperirte Klavier 'The well-tempered Clavier' Book 1, BWV846-869
CD1	1	No 01 in C major, BWV846. Movement 1: Prelude [2:08]
	2	No 01 in C major, BWV846. Movement 2: Fugue [1:56]
	3	No 02 in C minor, BWV847. Movement 1: Prelude [1:31]
	4	No 02 in C minor, BWV847. Movement 2: Fugue [1:45]
	5	No 03 in C sharp major, BWV848. Movement 1: Prelude [1:24]
	6	No 03 in C sharp major, BWV848. Movement 2: Fugue [2:14]
	7	No 04 in C sharp minor, BWV849. Movement 1: Prelude [2:31]
	8	No 04 in C sharp minor, BWV849. Movement 2: Fugue [5:27]
	9	No 05 in D major, BWV850. Movement 1: Prelude [1:21]
	10	No 05 in D major, BWV850. Movement 2: Fugue [2:09]
	11	No 06 in D minor, BWV851. Movement 1: Prelude [1:42]
	12	No 06 in D minor, BWV851. Movement 2: Fugue [2:34]
	13	No 07 in E flat major, BWV852. Movement 1: Prelude [3:34]
	14	No 07 in E flat major, BWV852. Movement 2: Fugue [1:42]
	15	No 08 in E flat minor, BWV853. Movement 1: Prelude [3:40]
	16	No 08 in E flat minor, BWV853. Movement 2: Fugue [5:36]
	17	No 09 in E major, BWV854. Movement 1: Prelude [1:27]
	18	No 09 in E major, BWV854. Movement 2: Fugue [1:07]
	19	No 10 in E minor, BWV855. Movement 1: Prelude [2:19]
	20	No 10 in E minor, BWV855. Movement 2: Fugue [1:10]
	21	No 11 in F major, BWV856. Movement 1: Prelude [1:02]
	22	No 11 in F major, BWV856. Movement 2: Fugue [1:35]
	23	No 12 in F minor, BWV857. Movement 1: Prelude [1:52]
	24	No 12 in F minor, BWV857. Movement 2: Fugue [4:38]
CD2	1	No 13 in F sharp major, BWV858. Movement 1: Prelude [1:30]
	2	No 13 in F sharp major, BWV858. Movement 2: Fugue [2:19]
	3	No 14 in F sharp minor, BWV859. Movement 1: Prelude [1:01]
	4	No 14 in F sharp minor, BWV859. Movement 2: Fugue [3:17]
	5	No 15 in G major, BWV860. Movement 1: Prelude [0:55]
	6	No 15 in G major, BWV860. Movement 2: Fugue [2:59]
	7	No 16 in G minor, BWV861. Movement 1: Prelude [2:03]
	8	No 16 in G minor, BWV861. Movement 2: Fugue [1:45]
	9	No 17 in A flat major, BWV862. Movement 1: Prelude [1:25]
	10	No 17 in A flat major, BWV862. Movement 2: Fugue [3:06]
	11	No 18 in G sharp minor, BWV863. Movement 1: Prelude [1:29]
	12	No 18 in G sharp minor, BWV863. Movement 2: Fugue [2:22]
	13	No 19 in A major, BWV864. Movement 1: Prelude [1:27]
	14	No 19 in A major, BWV864. Movement 2: Fugue [2:00]
	15	No 20 in A minor, BWV865. Movement 1: Prelude [1:02]
	16	No 20 in A minor, BWV865. Movement 2: Fugue [5:38]
	17	No 21 in B flat major, BWV866. Movement 1: Prelude [1:20]
	18	No 21 in B flat major, BWV866. Movement 2: Fugue [1:50]
	19	No 22 in B flat minor, BWV867. Movement 1: Prelude [4:02]
	20	No 22 in B flat minor, BWV867. Movement 2: Fugue [3:10]
	21	No 23 in B major, BWV868. Movement 1: Prelude [1:03]
	22	No 23 in B major, BWV868. Movement 2: Fugue [2:24]
	23	No 24 in B minor, BWV869. Movement 1: Prelude [4:47]
	24	No 24 in B minor, BWV869. Movement 2: Fugue [6:49]

Here is Book 1 of Bach's immortal 'Forty-eight' played by Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt of whose recording of the Partitas Australia's Soundscapes magazine said: 'Only superlatives will do. My appreciation of this Canadian pianist is enormous; I classify her among the top performers of our time.' And Gramophone said of the same set: 'Hardline purists who baulk at the thought of Bach on the piano should put aside their convictions long enough to hear Angela Hewitt.'

Angela Hewitt's '48' (Book 2 will be issued next year) is destined to join the small list of the very greatest recordings of Bach's incomparable masterpiece.

The set is graced by her own absorbing and perceptive notes on each of the Preludes and Fugues, the subjects of which are all printed in the CD booklet.