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The Well-Tempered ClavierThe Well-Tempered Clavier, BWV 846–893,

is a collection of two sets of preludes and

fugues in all 24 major and minor keys,

composed for solo keyboard by Johann

Sebastian Bach. In Bach's time Clavier

(keyboard) was a generic name indicating a

variety of keyboard instruments, most

typically a harpsichord or clavichord – but

not excluding an organ either.

The modern German spelling for the

collection is Das wohltemperierte Klavier

(WTK; German pronunciation: [das

ˌvoːlˌtɛmpəˈʁiːɐt̯ə klaˈviːɐ]̯). Bach gave the

title Das Wohltemperirte Clavier to a book

of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and

minor keys, dated 1722, composed "for the

profit and use of musical youth desirous of

learning, and especially for the pastime of

those already skilled in this study". Some 20

years later Bach compiled a second book of

the same kind, which became known as The

Well-Tempered Clavier, Part Two (in German:

Zweyter Theil, modern spelling: Zweiter

Teil).

Modern editions usually refer to both parts

as The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I (WTC I) and The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II

(WTC II), respectively.[1] The collection is generally regarded as being among the most

important works in the history of classical music.[2]

Composition historyPrecursors

Well-Tempered tuning

ContentBook I

Book II

Title page of Das Wohltemperierte Clavier,Book I (autograph)

Contents

The Well-Tempered Clavier - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Well-Tempere...

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Style

ReceptionFirst prelude of Book I

Tenth prelude of Book I

RecordingsAudio of Book I

References

Sources

External links

Each set contains twenty-four 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.

Bach recycled some of the preludes and

fugues from earlier sources: the 1720

Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann

Bach, for instance, contains versions of

eleven of the preludes of the first book of the

Well-Tempered Clavier. The C♯ major prelude

and fugue in book one was originally in C

major – Bach added a key signature of seven

sharps and adjusted some accidentals to

convert it to the required key.

In Bach's own time just one similar collection

was published, by Johann Christian

Schickhardt (1681–1762), whose Op. 30

L'alphabet de la musique, contained 24

sonatas in all keys for alto recorder or flute or violin and basso continuo.[3]

Although the Well-Tempered Clavier was the first collection of fully worked keyboard pieces

Composition history

Bach's autograph of the 4th Fugue of BookI

Precursors


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in all 24 keys, similar ideas had occurred

earlier. Before the advent of modern tonality

in the late 17th century, numerous

composers produced collections of pieces in

all seven modes: Johann Pachelbel's

magnificat fugues (composed 1695–1706),

Georg Muffat's Apparatus Musico-

organisticus of 1690 and Johann Speth's Ars

magna of 1693 for example. Furthermore,

some two hundred years before Bach's time,

equal temperament was realized on plucked

string instruments, such as the lute and the

theorbo, resulting in several collections of

pieces in all keys (although the music was

not yet tonal in the modern sense of the

word):

a cycle of 24 passamezzo–saltarello pairs(1567) by Giacomo Gorzanis (c.1520–c.1577)[4]

24 groups of dances, "clearly related to12 major and 12 minor keys" (1584) byVincenzo Galilei (c.1528–1591)[5]

30 preludes for 12-course lute or theorboby John Wilson (1595–1674)[6][7]

One of the earliest keyboard composers to

realize a collection of organ pieces in

successive keys was Daniel Croner (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]

J.C.F. Fischer's Ariadne musica neo-organoedum (published in 1702 and reissued 1715) is a

set of 20 prelude-fugue pairs in ten major and nine minor keys and the Phrygian mode, plus

five chorale-based ricercars. Bach knew the collection and borrowed some of the themes

from Fischer for the Well-Tempered Clavier.[11] Other contemporary works include the

treatise Exemplarische Organisten-Probe (1719) by Johann Mattheson (1681–1764), which

included 48 figured bass exercises in all keys,[12] Partien auf das Clavier (1718) by Christoph

Graupner (1683–1760) with eight suites in successive keys,[13] and Friedrich Suppig's

Fantasia from Labyrinthus Musicus (1722), a long and formulaic sectional composition

ranging through all 24 keys which was intended for an enharmonic keyboard with 31 notes

per octave and pure major thirds.[12][14] Finally, a lost collection by Johann Pachelbel

(1653–1706), Fugen und Praeambuln über die gewöhnlichsten Tonos figuratos (announced

1704), may have included prelude-fugue pairs in all keys or modes.[15]

It was long believed that Bach had taken the title The Well-Tempered Clavier from a

similarly-named set of 24 Preludes and Fugues in all the keys, for which a manuscript dated

Bach's autograph of Fugue No. 17 in A♭major from the second part of DasWohltemperierte Clavier


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1689 was found in the library of the Brussels Conservatoire. It was later shown that this was

the work of a composer who was not even born in 1689: Bernhard Christian Weber (1

December 1712 – 5 February 1758). It was in fact written in 1745–50, and in imitation of

Bach's example.[16][17]

Bach's title suggests that he had written for a (12-note) well-tempered tuning system in

which all keys sounded in tune (also known as "circular temperament"). The opposing

system in Bach's day was meantone temperament in which keys with many accidentals

sound out of tune. (See also musical tuning.) Bach would have been familiar with different

tuning systems, and in particular as an organist would have played instruments tuned to a

meantone system.

It is sometimes assumed that by "well-tempered" Bach intended equal temperament, the

standard modern keyboard tuning which became popular after Bach's death, but modern

scholars suggest instead a form of well temperament.[18] There is debate whether Bach

meant a range of similar temperaments, perhaps even altered slightly in practice from piece

to piece, or a single specific "well-tempered" solution for all purposes.

During much of the 20th century it was assumed that Bach wanted equal temperament,

which had been described by theorists and musicians for at least a century before Bach's

birth. Internal evidence for this may be seen in the fact that in Book 1 Bach paired the E♭

minor prelude (6 flats) with its enharmonic key of D♯ minor (6 sharps) for the fugue. This

represents an equation of the most tonally remote enharmonic keys where the flat and sharp

arms of the circle of fifths cross each other opposite to C major. Any performance of this pair

would have required both of these enharmonic keys to sound identically tuned, thus implying

equal temperament in the one pair, as the entire work implies as a whole. However, research

has continued into various unequal systems contemporary with Bach's career. Accounts of

Bach's own tuning practice are few and inexact. The three most cited sources are Forkel,

Bach's first biographer; Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg, who received information from Bach's

sons and pupils; and Johann Kirnberger, one of those pupils.

Forkel reports that Bach tuned his own harpsichords and clavichords and found other

people's tunings unsatisfactory; his own allowed him to play in all keys and to modulate into

distant keys almost without the listeners noticing it. Marpurg and Kirnberger, in the course

of a heated debate, appear to agree that Bach required all the major thirds to be sharper

than pure—which is in any case virtually a prerequisite for any temperament to be good in

all keys.[19]

Johann Georg Neidhardt, writing in 1724 and 1732, described a range of unequal and near-

equal temperaments (as well as equal temperament itself), which can be successfully used to

perform some of Bach's music, and were later praised by some of Bach's pupils and

associates. J.S. Bach's son Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach himself published a rather vague

Well-Tempered tuning

Intended tuning


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tuning method which was close to but still not equal temperament: having only "most of" the

fifths tempered, without saying which ones nor by how much.

Since 1950 there have been many other proposals and many performances of the work in

different and unequal tunings, some derived from historical sources, some by modern

authors. Whatever their provenances, these schemes all promote the existence of subtly

different musical characters in different keys, due to the sizes of their intervals. However,

they disagree as to which key receives which character:

Herbert Anton Kellner argued from the mid-1970s until his death that esotericconsiderations such as the pattern of Bach's signet ring, numerology, and more could beused to determine the correct temperament. His result is somewhat similar toWerckmeister's most familiar "correct" temperament. Kellner's temperament, with sevenpure fifths and five 1⁄5 comma fifths, has been widely adopted worldwide for the tuning oforgans. It is especially effective as a moderate solution to play 17th-century music, shyingaway from tonalities that have more than two flats.

John Barnes analyzed the Well-Tempered Clavier 's major-key preludes statistically,observing that some major thirds are used more often than others. His results werebroadly in agreement with Kellner's and Werckmeister's patterns. His own proposedtemperament from that study is a 1⁄6 comma variant of both Kellner (1⁄5) andWerckmeister (1⁄4), with the same general pattern tempering the naturals, and concludingwith a tempered fifth B–F♯.

Mark Lindley, a researcher of historical temperaments, has written several surveys oftemperament styles in the German Baroque tradition. In his publications he hasrecommended and devised many patterns close to those of Neidhardt, with subtlergradations of interval size. Since a 1985 article in which he addressed some issues in theWell-Tempered Clavier, Lindley's theories have focused more on Bach's organ music thanthe harpsichord or clavichord works.

More recently there has been a series of

proposals of temperaments derived from the

handwritten pattern of loops on Bach's 1722

title page. These loops (though truncated by

a later clipping of the page) can be seen at

the top of the title page image at the

beginning of the article.

Andreas Sparschuh, in the course of studying German Baroque organ tunings, assignedmathematical and acoustic meaning to the loops. Each loop, he argued, represents a fifthin the sequence for tuning the keyboard, starting from A. From this Sparschuh devised arecursive tuning algorithm resembling the Collatz conjecture in mathematics, subtractingone beat per second each time Bach's diagram has a non-empty loop. In 2006 heretracted his 1998 proposal based on A = 420 Hz, and replaced it with another at A =410 Hz.

Michael Zapf in 2001 reinterpreted the loops as indicating the rate of beating of differentfifths in a given range of the keyboard in terms of seconds-per-beat, with the tuning nowstarting on C.

John Charles Francis in 2004 performed a mathematical analysis of the loops using

Title page tuning interpretations

Top of Bach's title page for the 1st book of'The Well-Tempered Clavier', 1722,showing handwritten loops which somehave interpreted as tuning instructions.


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Mathematica under the assumption of beats per second. In 2004, he also distributedseveral temperaments derived from BWV 924.[20]

Bradley Lehman in 2004 proposed[21] a 1⁄6 and 1⁄12 comma layout derived from Bach'sloops, which he published in 2005 in articles of three music journals. Reaction to this workhas been both vigorous and mixed, with other writers producing further speculativeschemes or variants.

Daniel Jencka in 2005 proposed[22] a variation of Lehman's layout where one of the 1⁄6commas is spread over three fifths (G♯–D♯–A♯/B♭), resulting in a 1⁄18 comma division.Motivations for Jencka's approach involve an analysis of the possible logic behind thefigures themselves and his belief that a wide fifth (B♭–F) found in Lehman's interpretationis unlikely in a well-temperament from the time.

Graziano Interbartolo and others in 2006 proposed[23] a tuning system deduced from theWTK title page. Their work was also published in a book: Bach 1722 – Il temperamento diDio – Le scoperte e i significati del 'Wohltemperirte Clavier ', p. 136 – Edizioni Bolla, FinaleLigure.

Nevertheless, some musicologists say it is insufficiently proven that Bach's looped drawing

signifies anything reliable about a tuning method. Bach may have tuned differently per

occasion, or per composition, throughout his career.

David Schulenberg, in his book The Keyboard Music of J. S. Bach, allows that Lehman'sargument is "ingenious" but counters that it "lacks documentary support (if the swirlswere so important, why did Bach's students not copy them accurately, if at all?")[24] andconcludes that the swirls cannot "be unambiguously interpreted as a code for a particulartemperament".[25]

Luigi Swich, in his article "Further thoughts on Bach's 1722 temperament",[26] morerecently presents an alternative reading from that of Bradley Lehman and others ofJohann Sebastian Bach's tuning method as derived from the title-page calligraphicdrawing. It differs in significant details, resulting in a circulating but unequal temperamentusing 1⁄5 Pythagorean-comma fifths that is effective through all 24 keys and, mostimportant, tunable by ear without an electronic tuning device. It is based on thesynchronicity between the fifth F–C and the third F–A (c. 3 beats per second) and betweenthe fifth C–G and the third C–E (c. 2 beats per second). Such a system is reminiscent ofHerbert Anton Kellner's 1977 temperament and even more, among the others, thetemperament of the 1688 Arp Schnitger organ in Norden, St Ludgeri and thetemperament later described by Carlo Gervasoni in his La scuola della musica (Piacenza,1800). Such a system with all its major thirds more or less sharp is confirmed by FriedrichWilhelm Marpurg's report about the way a famous student of Bach's, Johann PhilippKirnberger, was taught to tune in his lessons with Bach. It allows all 24 keys to be playedthrough without changing tuning nor unpleasant intervals, but with varying degrees ofdifference-the temperament being unequal, and the keys not all sounding the same.Compared to Werckmeister III, the other 24 keys-circulating temperament, Bach's tuningis much more differentiated with its 8 (instead of Werckmeister's 4) different kinds ofmajor thirds. The manuscript Bach P415 in Berlin Staatsbibliothek is the only known copyof the WTC to show this drawing which represents, a bit cryptically in Bach's spirit, thepurpose for which the masterpiece was written and its solution at the same time. Notsurprisingly, since this is most probably the working copy that Johann Sebastian Bachused in his classes.

Each Prelude is followed by a Fugue in the same key. In each book the first Prelude and

Content


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Fugue is in C major, followed by a Prelude

and Fugue in its parallel minor key (C

minor). Then all keys, each major key

followed by its parallel minor key, are

followed through, each time moving up a half

tone: C → C♯ → D → E♭ → E → F → F♯ → ...

ending with ... → B♭ → B.

The first book of the Well-Tempered Clavier

was composed in the early 1720s, with

Bach's autograph dated 1722. Apart from the

early versions of several preludes included in

W. F. Bach's Klavierbüchlein (1720) there is

an almost complete collection of "Prelude

and Fughetta" versions predating the 1722

autograph, known from a later copy by an

unidentified scribe.[27]

The title page of the first book of the Well-

Tempered Clavier reads:

DasWohltemperirteClavier oderPræludia, undFugen durch alleTone undSemitonia, so wohltertiam majoremoder Ut Re Mianlangend, alsauch tertiamminorem oder ReMi Fa betreffend.Zum Nutzen undGebrauch derLehrbegierigenMusicalischenJugend, als auchderer in diesemstudio schon habilseyenden

The well-temperedClavier, orPreludes andFugues throughall the tones andsemitones, bothas regards thetertiam majoremor Ut Re Mi [i.e.,major] andtertiam minoremor Re Mi Fa [i.e.,minor]. For theprofit and use ofthe studiousmusical young,and also for thespecial diversionof those who arealready skilful in

Early version BWV 846a (1720) of the firstprelude of the first book, as written downby Bach in his eldest son's notebook

Bach's autograph (1722) of the firstprelude of Book I

Book I

Title page


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besonderemZeitvertreibauffgesetzet undverfertiget vonJohann SebastianBach. p. t:HochfürstlichAnhalt-CöthenischenCapel-Meistern undDirectore dererCamer Musiquen.Anno 1722.

this study,composed andmade by JohannSebastian Bach,for the timebeingCapellmeisterand Director ofthe Chamber-music of thePrince of Anhalt-Cothen. In theyear 1722.[28]

Early version BWV 846a of the Prelude in Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach

(No. 14: "Praeludium 1"). The prelude is a seemingly simple progression of arpeggiated

chords, one of the connotations of 'préluder' as the French lutenists used it: to test the

tuning. Bach used both G♯ and A♭ into the harmonic meandering.

Prelude and Fugue in C minor, BWV 847. Prelude also in WFB Klavierbüchlein, No. 15:

Praeludium 2.

Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp major, BWV 848. Prelude also in WFB Klavierbüchlein, No. 21:

Praeludium [8].

Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp minor, BWV 849. Prelude also in WFB Klavierbüchlein, No. 22:

Praeludium [9].

Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 850. Prelude also in WFB Klavierbüchlein, No. 17:

Praeludium 4.

Prelude and Fugue in D minor, BWV 851. Prelude also in WFB Klavierbüchlein, No. 16:

Praeludium 3.

No. 1: Prelude and Fugue in C major, BWV 846

No. 2: Prelude and Fugue in C minor, BWV 847

No. 3: Prelude and Fugue in C♯ major, BWV 848

No. 4: Prelude and Fugue in C♯ minor, BWV 849

No. 5: Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 850

No. 6: Prelude and Fugue in D minor, BWV 851

No. 7: Prelude and Fugue in E♭ major, BWV 852


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Prelude and Fugue in E-flat major, BWV 852.

Prelude in E-flat minor and Fugue in D-sharp minor, BWV 853. Prelude also in WFB

Klavierbüchlein, No. 23: Praeludium [10]. The fugue was transposed from D minor to D♯

minor.

Prelude and Fugue in E major, BWV 854. Prelude also in WFB Klavierbüchlein, No. 19:

Praeludium 6.

Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 855. Early version BWV 855a of the Prelude in

Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (No. 18: "Praeludium 5").

Prelude and Fugue in F major, BWV 856. Prelude also in WFB Klavierbüchlein, No. 20:

Praeludium 7.

Prelude and Fugue in F minor, BWV 857. Prelude also in WFB Klavierbüchlein, No. 24:

Praeludium [11].

Prelude and Fugue in F-sharp major, BWV 858.

Prelude and Fugue in F-sharp minor, BWV 859.

Prelude and Fugue in G major, BWV 860.

Prelude and Fugue in G minor, BWV 861.

Prelude and Fugue in A-flat major, BWV 862.

No. 8: Prelude in E♭ minor and Fugue in D♯ minor, BWV 853

No. 9: Prelude and Fugue in E major, BWV 854

No. 10: Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 855

No. 11: Prelude and Fugue in F major, BWV 856

No. 12: Prelude and Fugue in F minor, BWV 857

No. 13: Prelude and Fugue in F♯ major, BWV 858

No. 14: Prelude and Fugue in F♯ minor, BWV 859

No. 15: Prelude and Fugue in G major, BWV 860

No. 16: Prelude and Fugue in G minor, BWV 861

No. 17: Prelude and Fugue in A♭ major, BWV 862


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Prelude and Fugue in G-sharp minor, BWV 863.

Prelude and Fugue in A major, BWV 864.

Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 865.

Prelude and Fugue in B-flat major, BWV 866.

Prelude and Fugue in B-flat minor, BWV 867.

Prelude and Fugue in B major, BWV 868.

Prelude and Fugue in B minor, BWV 869.

The two major primary sources for this collection of Preludes and Fugues are the "London

Original" (LO) manuscript, dated between 1739 and 1742, with scribes including Bach, his

wife Anna Magdalena and his oldest son Wilhelm Friedeman, which is the basis for Version A

of WTC II,[29] and for Version B, that is the version published by the 19th-century Bach-

Gesellschaft, a 1744 copy primarily written by Johann Christoph Altnickol (Bach's son-in-

law), with some corrections by Bach, and later also by Altnickol and others.[30]

Prelude and Fugue in C major, BWV 870.

Prelude and Fugue in C minor, BWV 871.

Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp major, BWV 872.

No. 18: Prelude and Fugue in G♯ minor, BWV 863

No. 19: Prelude and Fugue in A major, BWV 864

No. 20: Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 865

No. 21: Prelude and Fugue in B♭ major, BWV 866

No. 22: Prelude and Fugue in B♭ minor, BWV 867

No. 23: Prelude and Fugue in B major, BWV 868

No. 24: Prelude and Fugue in B minor, BWV 869

Book II

No. 1: Prelude and Fugue in C major, BWV 870

No. 2: Prelude and Fugue in C minor, BWV 871

No. 3: Prelude and Fugue in C♯ major, BWV 872


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Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp minor, BWV 873.

Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 874.

Prelude and Fugue in D minor, BWV 875.

Prelude and Fugue in E-flat major, BWV 876.

Prelude and Fugue in D-sharp minor, BWV 877.

Prelude and Fugue in E major, BWV 878.

Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 879.

Prelude and Fugue in F major, BWV 880.

Prelude and Fugue in F minor, BWV 881. Prelude as a theme with variations. Fugue in three

voices.

Prelude and Fugue in F-sharp major, BWV 882.

Prelude and Fugue in F-sharp minor, BWV 883.

Prelude and Fugue in G major, BWV 884.

No. 4: Prelude and Fugue in C♯ minor, BWV 873

No. 5: Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 874

No. 6: Prelude and Fugue in D minor, BWV 875

No. 7: Prelude and Fugue in E♭ major, BWV 876

No. 8: Prelude and Fugue in D♯ minor, BWV 877

No. 9: Prelude and Fugue in E major, BWV 878

No. 10: Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 879

No. 11: Prelude and Fugue in F major, BWV 880

No. 12: Prelude and Fugue in F minor, BWV 881

No. 13: Prelude and Fugue in F♯ major, BWV 882

No. 14: Prelude and Fugue in F♯ minor, BWV 883

No. 15: Prelude and Fugue in G major, BWV 884


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Prelude and Fugue in G minor, BWV 885.

Prelude and Fugue in A-flat major, BWV 886.

Prelude and Fugue in G-sharp minor, BWV 887.

Prelude and Fugue in A major, BWV 888.

Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 889.

Prelude and Fugue in B-flat major, BWV 890.

Prelude and Fugue in B-flat minor, BWV 891.

Prelude and Fugue in B major, BWV 892.

Prelude and Fugue in B minor, BWV 893.

Musically, the structural regularities of the Well-Tempered Clavier encompass an

extraordinarily wide range of styles, more so than most pieces in the literature. The preludes

are formally free, although many of them exhibit typical Baroque melodic forms, often

coupled to an extended free coda (e.g. Book I preludes in C minor, D major, and B♭ major).

The preludes are also notable for their odd or irregular numbers of measures, in terms of

both the phrases and the total number of measures in a given prelude.

Each fugue is marked with the number of voices, from two to five. Most are three- and four-

voiced fugues, and there are only two five-voiced fugues (BWV 849 and 867), and one two-

voiced fugue (BWV 855). The fugues employ a full range of contrapuntal devices (fugal

exposition, thematic inversion, stretto, etc.), but are generally more compact than Bach's

No. 16: Prelude and Fugue in G minor, BWV 885

No. 17: Prelude and Fugue in A♭ major, BWV 886

No. 18: Prelude and Fugue in G♯ minor, BWV 887

No. 19: Prelude and Fugue in A major, BWV 888

No. 20: Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 889

No. 21: Prelude and Fugue in B♭ major, BWV 890

No. 22: Prelude and Fugue in B♭ minor, BWV 891

No. 23: Prelude and Fugue in B major, BWV 892

No. 24: Prelude and Fugue in B minor, BWV 893

Style


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fugues for organ.

Several attempts have been made to analyse the motivic connections between each prelude

and fugue,[31] – most notably Wilhelm Werker[32] and Johann Nepomuk David[33] The most

direct motivic reference appears in the B major set from Book 1, in which the fugue subject

uses the first four notes of the prelude, in the same metric position but at half speed.[34]

Both books of the Well-Tempered Clavier

were widely circulated in manuscript, but

printed copies were not made until 1801, by

three publishers almost simultaneously in

Bonn, Leipzig and Zurich.[35] Bach's style

went out of favour in the time around his

death, and most music in the early Classical

period had neither contrapuntal complexity

nor a great variety of keys. But, with the

maturing of the Classical style in the 1770s,

the Well-Tempered Clavier began to

influence the course of musical history, with

Haydn and Mozart studying the work closely.

Mozart transcribed some of the fugues of the

Well-Tempered Clavier for string ensemble:[36][37]

BWV 853 → K. 404a/1

BWV 871 → K. 405/1

BWV 874 → K. 405/5

BWV 876 → K. 405/2

BWV 877 → K. 405/4

BWV 878 → K. 405/3

BWV 882 → K. 404a/3

BWV 883 → K. 404a/2

Fantasy No. 1 with Fugue, K. 394 is one of Mozart's own compositions showing the influence

the Well-Tempered Clavier had on him.[38][39] Beethoven played the entire Well-Tempered

Clavier by the time he was eleven, and produced an arrangement of BWV 867, for string

quintet.[40][41][42][43][44][45]

Hans von Bülow called The Well-Tempered Clavier the "Old Testament" of music (the

Beethoven Sonatas were the "New Testament").

Bach's example inspired numerous composers of the 19th century, for instance in 1835

Chopin started composing his 24 Preludes, Op. 28, inspired by the Well-Tempered Clavier. In

the 20th century Dmitri Shostakovich wrote his 24 Preludes and Fugues, an even closer

Reception

Bach Gesellschaft Ausgabe Vol. 14 (1866),p. 44: Book I, Prelude No. 12


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reference to Bach's model. Mario

Castelnuovo-Tedesco wrote Les Guitares

bien tempérées (The Well-Tempered Guitars),

a set of 24 preludes and fugues for two

guitars, in all 24 major and minor keys,

inspired in both title and structure by Bach's

work.

The best-known piece from either book is the

first prelude of Book I. Anna Magdalena

Bach copied a short version of this prelude in

her 1725 Notebook (No. 29).[46] The

accessibility of this C major prelude has

made it one of the most commonly studied

piano pieces for students completing their

introductory training. This prelude also

served as the basis for the Ave Maria of

Charles Gounod.

Alexander Siloti transcribed a piano

arrangement of the early version of Prelude and Fugue in E minor (BWV 855a), transposed

into a Prelude in B minor.

The first complete recording of the Well-Tempered Clavier was made on the piano by Edwin

Fischer for EMI between 1933 and 1936.[47] The second was made by Wanda Landowska on

harpsichord for RCA Victor in 1949 (Book 1) and 1952 (Book 2).[48] The first complete

recording of the work on a clavichord was made by Ralph Kirkpatrick in 1959 (Book 1) and

1967 (Book 2) for Deutsche Grammophon. Helmut Walcha, better known as an organist,

recorded both books between 1959 and 1961 on a harpsichord.[49] Another noteworthy

version of both books was recorded by Australian pianist Roger Woodward in 2007 in

Bavaria. Daniel Chorzempa made the first recording using multiple instruments

(harpsichord, clavichord, organ, and fortepiano) for Philips in 1982.[50] Artists to have

recorded the collection twice include Ralph Kirkpatrick (once on clavichord and once on

harpsichord) and Angela Hewitt, João Carlos Martins, András Schiff, Rosalyn Tureck, and

Tatiana Nikolayeva (all on piano). Anthony Newman has recorded it three times – twice on

harpsichord and once on piano. As of 2013, over 150 recordings have been documented,[51]

including the above keyboard instruments as well as transcriptions for ensembles and also

synthesizers. Wendy Carlos recorded the Prelude and Fugue in E♭ major and the Prelude and

Fugue in C Minor (both from Book I) in versions for Moog synthesizer on her album

21st-century Open Source score edition ofBook I (182 pages)

First prelude of Book I

Tenth prelude of Book I

Recordings


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Switched-On Bach (1968).

Harpsichord performances of various parts of Book I by Martha Goldstein are in the public

domain.[52] Such harpsichord performances may, for instance, be tuned in equal

temperament,[53] or in Werckmeister temperament.[54] In addition to Martha Goldstein,

Raymond Smullyan is another well-known artist for whom several performances from Book I

are in the public domain.[55]

In March 2015, the pianist Kimiko Douglass-Ishizaka released a new and complete recording

of Book 1 into the public domain.[56] Her performances are available below, beginning with

the Prelude No. 1 in C Major (BWV 846):

1. Bach, Johann Sebastian; Novack, Saul (1983). The Well-Tempered Clavier: Books I and II,complete (https://books.google.com/books?id=ERMVEiSl1ZkC&pg=PT1).ISBN 978-0-486-24532-4.

2. All Music Guide to Classical Music: The Definitive Guide to Classical Music (https://books.google.com/books?id=nlDOICBmhbkC&pg=PA52). Hal Leonard Corporation. 2005. p. 52.ISBN 0-87930-865-6.

3. Pippa Drummond; David Lasocki. "Johann Christian Schickhardt". In Deane L. Root (ed.).Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. (subscription required)

4. Arthur J. Ness. "Giacomo Gorzanis". In Deane L. Root (ed.). Grove Music Online. OxfordMusic Online. Oxford University Press. (subscription required)

5. Claude V. Palisca. "Vincenzo Galilei". In Deane L. Root (ed.). Grove Music Online. OxfordMusic Online. Oxford University Press. (subscription required)

6. Ian Spink. "Wilson, John (English composer, lutenist and singer)". In Deane L. Root (ed.).Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. (subscription required)

7. The Diapason Press – General Series: John Wilson, "Thirty Preludes" in all (24) keys for lute(http://diapason.xentonic.org/dp/dp049.html)

8. John H. Baron. A 17th-Century Keyboard Tablature in Brasov, JAMS, xx (1967), pp. 279–85.

9. Viorel Cosma. "Daniel Croner". In Deane L. Root (ed.). Grove Music Online. Oxford MusicOnline. Oxford University Press. (subscription required)

10. John H. Baron. "Kittel.". In Deane L. Root (ed.). Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.Oxford University Press. (subscription required)

11. Rudolf Walter. "Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer". In Deane L. Root (ed.). Grove MusicOnline. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. (subscription required)

12. Karl Geiringer. The Bach Family: Seven Generations of Creative Genius, pp. 268–9. OxfordUniversity Press, 1954.

13. Oswald Bill, Christoph Grosspietsch. Christoph Graupner: Thematisches Verzeichnis dermusikalischen Werke. Carus, 2005. ISBN 3-89948-066-X

14. Fredrich Suppig: Labyrinthus musicus, Calculus musicus, facsimile of the manuscripts.Tuning and Temperament Library, Volume 3, edited by Rudolf Rasch. Diapason Press,Utrecht, 1990.

Audio of Book I

References


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15. Jean M. Perreault. The Thematic Catalogue of the Musical Works of Johann Pachelbel,p. 84. Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Md. 2004. ISBN 0-8108-4970-4.

16. Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed, 1954, Vol. IX, p. 223

17. The Well-Tempered Clavier – notes (http://www.erpmusic.com/records/cds/the-well-tempered-clavier-I), Estonian Record Productions

18. Bach, J. S. (2004). Palmer, Willard A. (ed.). J. S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier (https://books.google.com/books?id=yZ95L8Xohs0C&pg=PA4). Los Angeles: Alfred Music. p. 4.ISBN 0-88284-831-3. Retrieved May 10, 2010.

19. "Mr. Kirnberger has more than once told me as well as others about how the famous Joh.Seb. Bach, during the time when the former was enjoying musical instruction at the handsof the latter, confided to him the tuning of his clavier, and how the master expresslyrequired of him that he tune all the thirds sharp." — Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg, 1776.Quoted in David, Hans T.; Mendel, Arthur, eds. The Bach Reader (Revised, with aSupplement), W. W. Norton & Company, 1966, p. 261. ISBN 0-393-00259-4

20. The Keyboard Tuning of J. S. Bach (http://www.eunomios.org/contrib/francis1/francis1.html), John Charles Francis

21. LaripS.com: Johann Sebastian Bach's tuning (http://www.larips.com/), Bradley Lehman,2005

22. The Tuning Script from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier: A Possible 1⁄18 PC Interpretation (http://bachtuning.jencka.com/essay.htm) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20120301105734/http://bachtuning.jencka.com/essay.htm) March 1, 2012, at the Wayback Machine,Daniel Jencka, 2006

23. Bach 1722 – Il temperamento di Dio (http://www.bach1722.com/presentazione.htm)

24. David Schulenberg, The Keyboard Music of J. S. Bach, Second Edition, Routledge, 2006, p.452, ISBN 978-0-415-97400-4

25. David Schulenberg, The Keyboard Music of J. S. Bach, Second Edition, Routledge, 2006, p.18, ISBN 978-0-415-97400-4

26. Luigi Swich, "Further thoughts on Bach's 1722 temperament" in "Early Music" XXXIX/3,August 2011, pp. 401–407

27. Bach Digital Source 5418 (http://www.bachdigital.de/receive/BachDigitalSource_source_00005418) at www.bachdigital.de (http://www.bachdigital.de)

28. Monthly Musical Record, July 1 1887, p. 146 (https://books.google.com/books?id=BftLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA146#v=onepage&q&f=false)

29. GB-Lbl Add. MS. 35021 (http://www.bachdigital.de/receive/BachDigitalSource_source_00003694) at www.bachdigital.de (http://www.bachdigital.de)

30. D-B Mus. ms. Bach P 430 (http://www.bachdigital.de/receive/BachDigitalSource_source_00001380) at www.bachdigital.de (http://www.bachdigital.de)

31. Leikin, Anatole. "The Mystery of Chopin's Préludes", (Surrey: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.,2015) p. 48.

32. Werker, Wilhelm. Studien über die Symmetrie im Bau der Fugen und die motivischeZusammengehörigkeit der Präludien und Fugen des "Wohlemperierten Klaviers" vonJohann Sebastian Bach (Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel, 1922)

33. David, Johann Nepomuk. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier: Der Versuch einer Synopsis(Göttigen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1962)

34. Bach, J. S. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier: Teil I (München: G. Henle Verlag, 1997), pp.110–03.


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35. Kassler, Michael (2006). "Broderip, Wilkinson and the First English Edition of the '48' " (https://web.archive.org/web/20080503075537/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3870/is_200607/ai_n16522881). The Musical Times. 147 (Summer 2006): 67–76.doi:10.2307/25434385 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F25434385). ISSN 0027-4666 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0027-4666). Archived from the original (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3870/is_200607/ai_n16522881/) on May 3, 2008. Retrieved May 10, 2010.

36. Preludes and Fugues, K.404a: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project(IMSLP)

37. Köchel, Ludwig Ritter von (1862). Chronologisch-thematisches Verzeichniss sämmtlicherTonwerke Wolfgang Amade Mozart's (https://archive.org/details/chronologischth01kcgoog)(in German). Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel. OCLC 3309798 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/3309798). Archived from the original (https://books.google.com/books?id=kV4VAAAAYAAJ)on 12 February 2008., No. 405, pp. 328–329 (https://archive.org/stream/chronologischth01kcgoog#page/n355/mode/2up)

38. Michelle Rasmussen (http://www.schillerinstitut.dk/bach.html)

39. Brown, A. Peter, The Symphonic Repertoire (Volume 2). Indiana University Press(ISBN 025333487X), pp. 423–432 (2002).

40. "Hess 38" is Beethoven's arrangement of "Book 1 – Fugue No. 22 in B♭ minor" (BWV 867).

41. McKay, Cory. "The Bach Reception in the 18th and 19th century" (http://www.music.mcgill.ca/~cmckay/papers/musicology/BachReception.pdf) at www.music.mcgill.ca (http://www.music.mcgill.ca)

42. Eric Schenk (author), translated from the German by Richard and Clara Winston & Winston(eds) (1959), Mozart and his Times, p. 452

43. Daniel Heartz. Mozart, Haydn and Early Beethoven: 1781–1802, p. 678. (https://books.google.be/books?id=0wp2CQAAQBAJ&pg=PA678) W. W. Norton & Company, 2008.ISBN 9780393285789

44. Kerst (1904), p. 101

45. Edward Noel Green. Chromatic Completion in the Late Vocal Music of Haydn and Mozart: ATechnical, Philosophic, and Historical Study, p. 273 (https://books.google.be/books?id=_UK4g0hzm4wC&pg=PA273) New York University. ISBN 9780549794516

46. Notebooks for Anna Magdalena Bach: Scores at the International Music Score LibraryProject (IMSLP) at IMSLP website

47. Gramophone, "Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier" (http://www.gramophone.co.uk/editorial/bachs-well-tempered-clavier)

48. Bach Cantatas Website, "Well-Tempered Clavier Book I, BWV 846–869 Recordings – Part 1"(http://www.bach-cantatas.com/NVD/BWV846-869-Rec1.htm)

49. Helmut Walcha: Johann Sebastian Bach – The Well-Tempered Clavier Books 1 & 2 (http://harmonies.com/19926-2_Walcha_Bach/index.html) at harmonies.com (http://harmonies.com)




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52. The portions of Book I performed by Martha Goldstein and in the public domain includethe following (all on harpsichord): "Prelude in C major" (BWV 846), Fugue in C major (BWV846), 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 Dmajor” (BWV 850), ”Prelude No. 6 in D minor” (BWV 851), ”Fugue No. 6 in D minor” (BWV851), ”Prelude No. 21 in B♭ major” (BWV 866), and ”Fugue No. 21 in B♭ major” (BWV 866).

53. "Book 1 of The Well-tempered Clavier by J.S. Bach – Prelude in C major (BWV 846)",performed on a French harpsichord tuned in equal temperament by Robert Schröter.

54. "Book 1 of The Well-tempered Clavier by J.S. Bach – Prelude in C major (BWV 846)",performed on a French harpsichord tuned in Werckmeister temperament by RobertSchröter.

55. The portions of Book I performed by Raymond Smullyan and in the public domain includethe following (all on piano): "Prelude and Fugue No. 13 in F♯ major" (BWV 858), "Preludeand Fugue No. 18 in G♯ minor" (BWV 863), "Prelude and Fugue No. 22 in B♭ minor" (BWV867), and "Prelude and Fugue No. 23 in B major" (BWV 868).

56. The Open Well-Tempered Clavier Website, "The Open Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1" (http://welltemperedclavier.org/)

Kirkpatrick, Ralph. Interpreting Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier: A Performer's Discourse ofMethod (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1987). ISBN 0-300-03893-3.

Ledbetter, David. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier: The 48 Preludes and Fugues (New Haven:Yale University Press, 2002). ISBN 0-300-09707-7.

Interactive media

(Adobe Flash) Exploring Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier (http://bach.nau.edu/clavier/wtc.html) – Korevaar (piano), Goeth (organ), Parmentier (harpsichord). Direct access to thefugues (http://bach.nau.edu/clavier/nature/fugues/Fugue01.html).

Sheet music

Open-source edition of the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I (https://web.archive.org/web/20150908090347/https://musescore.com/opengoldberg/sets/openwtc) available inMuseScore, MusicXML, MIDI, PDF formats, released under CC0

Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, Book II: Scores at the International Music Score LibraryProject (IMSLP)

Johann Sebastian Bach's Werke. Das Wohltemperirte Clavier, Erster Theil / Zweiter Theil(Leipzig 1851) (http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/variations/scores/abt8726/index.html): IndianaUniversity School of Music score in GIF format

Scores of some of the Preludes and Fugues of the Well-Tempered Clavier through theMutopia Project (http://www.mutopiaproject.org/cgibin/make-table.cgi?collection=bachwtk&preview=1)

Bach's manuscript of Book II of the Well-Tempered Clavier (http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Add_MS_35021): Facsimile of British Library Add MS 35021

Recordings

Sources

External links


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Free piano recording of Book 1 by Kimiko Ishizaka (Open Well-Tempered Clavier project) (http://www.welltemperedclavier.org/)

Complete, free midi recordings of books I & II by John Sankey (http://www.jsbach.net/midi/midi_johnsankey.html)

Free midi recording of book II by Prof. Yo Tomita of The Queen's University, Belfast (http://www.music.qub.ac.uk/~tomita/midi.html)

Complete, free midi recordings of books I and II by Alan Kennington (http://www.topology.org/midi/wtk/)

Piano Society – Free audio records of WTC, MP3 files, video (http://pianosociety.com/cms/index.php?section=101)

On tuning systems

All existing 18th century quotes on J.S.Bachs temperament (https://www.academia.edu/5210832/18th_Century_Quotes_on_J.S._Bachs_Temperament)

Larips.com – "Bach" tuning resources (http://www.larips.com/) – interpreted by BradleyLehman

Bach- and Well-Temperaments for Western Classical Music (http://home.deds.nl/~broekaert/)

Rosetta Revisited (https://www.academia.edu/3368760/Rosetta_Revisited_Bachs_Very_Ordinary_Temperament) — Interpreted by Dominic Eckersley

Descriptions and analyses

J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier / In-depth Analysis and Interpretation (http://www-personal.umich.edu/~siglind/text.htm) by Siglind Bruhn. Full text of the 1993 book.

Animated visualizations of the music (http://www2.nau.edu/tas3/wtc.html) by Tim Smithand David Korevaar

Graphical motif extraction for The Well-Tempered Clavier 1 (http://www.djtascha.de/music/htm/index_wtc1.htm) and The Well-Tempered Clavier 2 (http://www.djtascha.de/music/htm/index_wtc2.htm)

Essay by Yo Tomita about Book I of The Well-Tempered Clavier (http://www.music.qub.ac.uk/~tomita/essay/wtc1.html)

Program notes (https://web.archive.org/web/20100403032831/http://www.laco.org/performances/127/?program=1) from the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra

Interpretation and analysis of JS Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier (http://bachwelltemperedclavier.org/index.html) by Philip Goeth (includes audio samples)

Lowrance, Rachel A. (2013) "Instruction, Devotion, and Affection: Three Roles of Bach’sWell-Tempered Clavier," Musical Offerings: Vol. 4: No. 1, Article 2. Available at:http://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/musicalofferings/vol4/iss1/2

Well Temperaments, based on the Werckmeister Definition (http://home.deds.nl/~broekaert/Well%20Tempering.html)

The Well-Tempered Clavier as Music of Sacred Temperament (http://wisteriafield.jp/wtc1//index.html)

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