Bach: The Well-tempered Clavier Book 1

Proving that Jill Crossland “well deserves her enviable reputation as a Bach pianist” (BBC Music Magazine), this superb recording of Bach’s Well-tempered Clavier, Book 1, is a great way to start the New Year on Signum. Colloquially known as the “48” from the two books of twenty-four preludes and fugues, these works form one of the great landmarks of keyboard repertoire.

Bach’s own description from the title page of his copy of Book 1 reads “Preludes & Fugues through all tones and semitones including (both) major & minor (keys).” Schumann even referred to the work as his “daily bread”.

Revered for her performances of Bach, Jill Crossland gives concerts across the world, first performing the complete Well-tempered Clavier from memory as a student in Manchester.

SIGCD113  126 minutes 35 seconds (2 discs)
'Within seconds you're drawn into the gentle hammer-strokes that unlock Crossland's warm, rounded and perpetually singing sonority, gorgeously captured via Jonathan Haskell's engineering' (Gramophone)
'Performed with a graceful technique and a pellucid tone, Crossland's interpretations belong among the finest of recent years and perhaps among the finest of all time. Signum Classics' sound is cool, ...