This reappraisal of the St Matthew (the earlier version from 1999 does appear studied and self-conscious in comparison, for all its estimable virtues) takes us on a journey which will continually enthral, move and surprise. If Bachians have found Suzuki’s performances a touch imperturbable on occasion, this recording throws down the gauntlet on almost every level. A revelatory reading of an eminent Bach interpreter in his prime. With each SACD coming in at over 80 minutes, it is squeezed on to two discs, offering excellent value. This certainly has the effect of bringing the two parts of the Passion closer together, to the serious benefit of our ears and imaginations... Jonathan Freeman-Attwood The late 1940s seem to have been the beginning of the process in which classical music audiences, for the first time in history, stopped listening to the music of their own time. Possibly it was an increasingly difficult listening-experience, and the music had become far too complex for amateurs to play through at home, as they had for centuries.

The Well-Tempered Clavier Book 2; The Well-Tempered Clavier Book II; WTC2; WTC 2; WTC II; well tempered clavier; le clavecin bien tempéré 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.

Köchel, Ludwig Ritter von (1862). Chronologisch-thematisches Verzeichniss sämmtlicher Tonwerke Wolfgang Amade Mozart's (in German). Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel. OCLC 3309798. Alt URL, No. 405, pp. 328–329 Palisca, Claude V. (2001). "Vincenzo Galilei". In Sadie, Stanley; Tyrrell, John (eds.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2nded.). London: Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 978-1-56159-239-5. ‎ Each set contains 24 pairs of prelude and fugue. The first pair is in C major, the second in C minor, the third in C ♯ major, the fourth in C ♯ minor, and so on. The rising chromatic pattern continues until every key has been represented, finishing with a B minor fugue. The first set was compiled in 1722 during Bach's appointment in Köthen, the second followed 20 years later in 1742 while he was in Leipzig.

Watkin plays the first five suites on a cello by Francesco Ruggieri – a luthier contemporary of Bach’s whose instruments are famed for their warmth of tone – and the sixth on a rare five-string cello by the Amati brothers of the same period. But the extraordinarily resonant sound he makes is probably less to do with the instruments than with the playing itself, which is warm, expansive, generous and friendly. That is not to say that this performance is not of the highest level intellectually and technically: it is, and largely because of its appreciation of these suites as not just dances but discourses almost verbal in their directness. It is as if all the work that Watkin has ever done on these pieces has been absorbed absolutely and then reproduced in a performance that is able to be completely original in its voice at the same time as never producing a phrase that jars in its unsubtlety, or presents an ego that overarches the music... Caroline Gill The Candleriggs Bar, on the same level as the Recital Room, will be open on the night to serve a range of hot and cold drinks. Bach’s collection of 48 Preludes and Fugues in all the major and minor keys has long been a bible for keyboard players, and was the inspiration for similar sets by Busoni, Chopin, Rachmaninov and Shostakovich, among others. Bach’s decision to explore music in all the keys had, in turn, been motivated by his predecessors – notably JKF Fischer, from whose Ariadne musica Bach borrowed and developed several themes.Lowrance, Rachel A. (2013). "Instruction, Devotion, and Affection: Three Roles of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier". Musical Offerings. 4 (1): 15–30. doi: 10.15385/jmo.2013.4.1.2. In Eisenach, where Bach was born in 1685, an exhibition at the Bach Haus (running July 1 through November 6) allows visitors to recreate the tunings common at that time on a synthesizer. One of the earliest keyboard composers to realize a collection of organ pieces in successive keys was Daniel Croner [ de] (1656–1740), who compiled one such cycle of preludes in 1682. [8] [9] His contemporary Johann Heinrich Kittel (1652–1682) also composed a cycle of 12 organ preludes in successive keys. [10]