Similarly, Trinity College London does not include any of the ‘Well-Tempered Clavier’ until their Grade 8 examination for piano. Presently the E major Prelude and Fugue (BWV 854) is the first option of the current specification illustrating the technical challenges that this piece presents and the expectations of pianistic maturity perhaps required to play this piece competently. J S Bach’s ‘Well-Tempered Clavier’, a monumental collection of 48 Preludes and Fugues, is recognised as one of the supreme achievements of Western music. Rich in musical invention and expression, its influence continues to resonate widely today. With its glowing inner vitality and penetrating observations, this is a Passion that makes a very definite statement about what this work can communicate in our times. Some arias touch freshly in their human perceptiveness and others seriously challenge the ‘status quo’. If you’re able to leave aside your expectations, you will be rewarded by Lucile Richardot’s extraordinary ‘Erbarme dich’ cutting into the flesh as we beg for mercy, rather than merely assuming it. Likewise, ‘Komm, süsses Kreuz’, which often foreshadows the imminent murder within the ‘Act of the Cross’, provides balm so fragrant as to disorientate us temporarily from the normal run of events. Degout’s ‘Mache dich’ is a tantalising burst of adrenalin so palpable as to make us spring up and dance. Above all, sustained eloquence is the golden seam in a recording that markedly enriches the Passion’s famously illustrious discography through its quest for endless possibilities... Jonathan Freeman-Attwood BWV 846; Präludium und Fuge C-Dur BWV 846; Preludio e fuga, BWV 846; C大調前奏與賦格; Prélude et fugue en ut majeur (BWV 846); Preludi i fuga en do major (BWV 846); پرلود و فوگ در دو ماژور (BWV 846); 前奏曲とフーガ ハ長調 BWV846 Prelude and Fugue in F major, BWV 856 [ commons]. Prelude also in WFB Klavierbüchlein, No. 20: Praeludium 7.

Rivals are plentiful, but credible contenders at this level of interpretation are rare. Andrei Gavrilov ‘out-Goulds’ Gould with his dry staccatissimo, and Gould himself was a good deal livelier in concert than on his rather sober commercial recording under Leonard Bernstein. Sviatoslav Richter plays with incredible control while keeping every note alive, but some might find his manner too austere. And while Edwin Fischer is consistently spontaneous, he is rather less elegant than Perahia – and his version of the A major Concerto sounds to me as if it’s ‘Busonified’ (or something very similar). Andras Schiff, like Perahia, commands a wide range of colours, though the binding force of Perahia’s concentration – always a boon in his latest recordings – leaves the stronger impression. The carefully balanced Sony recordings keep the sound frame tight and lively. All in all, this counts as yet another exceptional Bach-Perahia release... Rob Cowan Keyboard Concertos Underpinning so much of Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s approach to Bach is identifying the provenance and essence of dramatic character, ‘mutant opera’ (as Gardiner calls it) found in genres – like the motet – which are not enacted but depend on perceptive rhetorical judgement within a fabric of rolling continuity. Bach’s motets may pay homage to forebears in scale, tone and technique but each one, especially revealed in this vibrant and questing new set, presses for fresh meaning with all the virtuoso means Bach could muster.The portions of Book 1 performed by Martha Goldstein and in the public domain include the following (all on harpsichord): "Prelude in C major" (BWV 846), Fugue in C major (BWV 846), Prelude No. 2 in C minor (BWV 847), Fugue No. 2 in C minor (BWV 847), "Fugue No. 4 in C ♯ minor" (BWV 849), "Prelude No. 5 in D major" (BWV 850), "Fugue No. 5 in D major" (BWV 850), "Prelude No. 6 in D minor" (BWV 851), "Fugue No. 6 in D minor" (BWV 851), "Prelude No. 21 in B ♭ major" (BWV 866), and "Fugue No. 21 in B ♭ major" (BWV 866).

Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp minor, BWV 849. Prelude also in WFB Klavierbüchlein, No. 22: Praeludium [9]. The manuscript BachP415 in the Berlin State Library is the only known copy of the W.T.C. that shows the doodle. It would be a too bit cryptical for Bach's spirit, but seems to represent the purpose for which the masterpiece was written and a clue to its decipherment at the same time. In perspective, this is not surprising, since the document with the doodle is most probably the working copy that Johann Sebastian Bach used in classes with his students.

Interpretation and analysis of JS Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier by Philip Goeth (includes audio samples)