J.S. Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II Luca Guglielmi

• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750): The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893:
• 1 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Prelude I in C Major, BWV 870 (Version B) 02:36
• 2 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Fugue I à 3 in C Major, BWV 870 01:47
• 3 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Prelude II in C Minor, BWV 871 (Version A) 01:21
• 4 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Fugue II à 4 in C Minor, BWV 871 02:14
• 5 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Prelude III in C-Sharp Major, BWV 872 (Version B) 02:49
• 6 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Fugue III in C-Sharp Major, BWV 872 02:11
• 7 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Prelude IV in C-Sharp Minor, BWV 873 (Version B) 04:05
• 8 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Fugue IV à 3 in C-Sharp Minor, BWV 873 02:45
• 9 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Prelude V in D Major, BWV 874 (Version A) 02:50
• 10 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Fugue V à 4 in D Major, BWV 874 02:49
• 11 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Prelude VI in D Minor, BWV 875 (Version A) 01:39
• 12 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Fugue VI à 3 in D Minor, BWV 875 02:01
• 13 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Prelude VII in E-Flat Major, BWV 876 (Version B) 03:17
• 14 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Fugue VII à 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 876 02:28
• 15 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Prelude VIII in E-Flat Minor, BWV 877 (Versin A) 02:08
• 16 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Fugue VIII à 4 in E-Flat Minor, BWV 877 03:58
• 17 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Prelude IX in E Major, BWV 878 (Version A) 02:55
• 18 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Fugue IX à 4 in E Major, BWV 878 02:52
• 19 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Prelude X in E Minor, BWV 879 (Version B) 02:32
• 20 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Fugue X à 3 in E Minor, BWV 879 03:14
• 21 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Prelude XI in F Major, BWV 880 (Version A) 04:05
• 22 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Fugue XI à 3 in F Major, BWV 880 01:45
• 23 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Prelude XII in F Minor, BWV 881 (Version B) 02:38
• 24 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Fugue XII à 3 in F Minor, BWV 881 02:13
• 25 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Prelude XIII in F-Sharp Major, BWV 882 (Version A) 03:26
• 26 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Fugue XIII à 3 in F-Sharp Major, BWV 882 02:45
• 27 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Prelude XIV in F-Sharp Minor, BWV 883 (Version A) 02:55
• 28 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Fugue XIV à 3 in F-Sharp Minor, BWV 883 03:07
• 29 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Prelude XV in G Major, BWV 884 (Version A) 01:14
• 30 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Fugue XV à 3 in G Major, BWV 884 01:20
• 31 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Prelude XVI in G Minor, BWV 885 (Version A) 02:01
• 32 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Fugue XVI à 4 in G Minor, BWV 885 03:37
• 33 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Prelude XVII in A-Flat Major, BWV 886 (Version B) 04:02
• 34 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Fugue XVII à 4 in A-Flat Major, BWV 886 (.) 02:55
• 35 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Prelude XVIII in G-Sharp Minor, BWV 887 (Version A) 02:51
• 36 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Fugue XVIII à 3 in G-Sharp Minor, BWV 887 05:41
• 37 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Prelude XIX in A Major, BWV 888 (Version A) 02:03
• 38 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Fugue XIX à 3 in A Major, BWV 888 01:24
• 39 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Prelude XX in A Minor, BWV 889 (Version B) 02:26
• 40 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Fugue XX à 3 in A Minor, BWV 889 01:53
• 41 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Prelude XXI in B-Flat Major, BWV 890 (Version A) 04:51
• 42 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Fugue XXI à 3 in B-Flat Major, BWV 890 02:18
• 43 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Prelude XXII in B-Flat Minor, BWV 891 (Version A) 02:45
• 44 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Fugue XXII à 4 in B-Flat Minor, BWV 891 05:25
• 45 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Prelude XXIII in B Major, BWV 892 (Version A) 03:37
• 46 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Fugue XXIII à 4 in B Major, BWV 892 02:09
• 47 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Prelude XXIV in B Minor, BWV 893 (Version A) 02:16
• 48 Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870-893: Fugue XXIV à 3 in B Minor, BWV 893 01:48
• Total Runtime 02:12:01

Info for J.S. Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II

Das Wohltemperirte Clavier, a collection of preludes and fugues in all major and minor keys completed by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1722, was clearly modelled along the lines of Ariadne Musica by Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer (1662-1746, Kapellmeister in Baden from 1715 to 1746) an organ music anthology published for the first time in 1702 and probably known by Bach in its second 1715 edition. Bach took Fischer's original layout of 20 keys and expanded it to a total of 24, thereby creating the first self-contained collection of music written for the entire corpus of existing keys.

Bach, who, on the handwritten title page of the beautiful copy now preserved in the Berlin Staatsbibliothek (Mus. Ms. P 415), signed as Hochf. Anhalt-Cthenischen Capel-Meistern und Directore derer Cammer Musiquen, clearly indicated his purpose in composing this incomparable collection: "for the profit of musical youth desirous of learning, and especially for the pastime of those already skilled in this study."

Regarding the instrument we have chosen for this recording of Vol. II, we have selected a copy by Kerstin Schwarz of the fortepiano built by Gottfried Silbermann in 1749, now preserved in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg. In recent years a clearer picture has emerged of Bach's instrumentarium, and one can infer that in the last ten years of his life he had a Silbermann fortepiano at his disposal. By then he regarded it as a valid alternative to the harpsichord, the clavichord, and the Lautenwerck, which, taken together, embodied the generic term Clavier. Silbermann, for his part, relied on Bach's assistance as Cantor to help him sell his valuable instruments (a fortepiano cost as much as a Capellmeister's annual salary!), and he was entirely indebted to Bartolomeo Cristofori for the design of his fortepiano mechanism, which he later applied to the robust makeup of harpsichords of late German build.

This recording of the Zweyter Theil of Das Wohltemperirte Clavier is dedicated to her memory as well to her husband, the late Paul Badura-Skoda (1927-2019), in comparable pianist and soloist on historical fortepianos. Version A: after the original manuscript, London (1742) Version B: after the tradition by Johann Christoph Altnichols (1744).

Luca Guglielmi (Turin, Italy, 1977) is a conductor, composer, soloist of keyboard instruments (harpsichord, organ, clavichord, fortepiano, modern piano) and musicologist, renowned for his historically informed interpretations of music of all periods, his wide repertoire from Gesualdo to Stravinsky, and his strong commitment into the study and application of phenomenology of music.

Recently, he has been appointed assistant conductor to Jordi Savall (with whom he collaborated since more than twenty years) in his long-term project of complete performance and recording of Beethoven's 9 Symphonies with Le Concert des Nations.

Luca Guglielmi has a wide discography of more than 50 CDs, among them 18 solo titles devoted to a repertoire from Frescobaldi to Mozart, for such labels as: Accent, cpo, Vivat, Hnssler Classics, Stradivarius and Elegia. His recordings of Bach's Goldberg Variations and Pasquini's Sonate da gravecembalo have been awarded with the Diapason d'or; his last organ recording Bach in Montecassino, for the English label Vivat, received an Editor's Choice from the Gramophone magazine.

Luca Guglielmi is professor of harpsichord, fortepiano and chamber music at ESMUC (Escola Superior de Musica de Catalunya) in Barcelona.

Luca Guglielmi, piano

Luca Guglielmi
(Turin, Italy, 1977) is renowned for his historically informed interpretations of music of all periods, his wide repertoire and his strong commitment into the study and application of phenomenology of music. He has a great passion for incorporating period style within the traditional orchestral world and creating distinctive and dynamic programs. Luca Guglielmi has a wide repertoire, from Gesualdo to Strawinsky, conducting orchestras and ensembles such as: Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra/Orfeus Barockensemble, Orchestra Regionale Toscana, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, Orchestra Sinfonica Abruzzese, Orchestra Milano Classica, Arsys Bourgogne, Coro di Torino della RAI, Cappella Musicale di Santa Maria dei Servi di Bologna.

In opera, he has been assistant to conductors such as: Antoni Ros-Marbà, Victor Pablo-Perez, Gottfried von der Goltz, Giovanni Antonini, Jordi Savall for works from Monteverdi to Mozart, working in famous opera houses like: Gran Teatre del Liceu (Barcelona), Teatro Real (Madrid), Teatro Regio (Turin), Styriarte Festival (Graz).

Composer of notable talent, he studied at the Turin's Conservatorio under Alessandro Ruo Rui. He has composed several works for mixed a cappella choir, a format he favours; his compositions have been performed in Italy and abroad by the Turin Vocalensemble (dir. Carlo Pavese), by the Coro Filarmonico “Ruggero Maghini” and by the St Jacobs Chamber Choir (dir. Gary Graden).

The most recent highlight has been a last minute replacement of renowned conductor Reinhard Goebel with Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto and soprano Roberta Mameli, for a concert in the famous Basilica del Santo in Padua (Italy).

Concurrently, from 1993 Luca Guglielmi has had a busy international career as a soloist of historical keyboards (harpsichord, organ, clavichord, fortepiano), choir master and leader of various ensembles "with original instruments". Honourable Mention at the XII International Organ Competition in Bruges, he studied harpsichord with Ton Koopman and Patrizia Marisaldi, organ with Vittorio Bonotto, renaissance counterpoint and historic composition with Sergio Pasteris. For nearly twenty years Luca has been the assistant and continuo player of Jordi Savall and his ensembles Hesperion XXI, Le Concert des Nations and La Capella Reial de Catalunya, giving concerts, from the duo to the large ensemble, all over the world. He has collaborated with artists such as Cecilia Bartoli, Sara Mingardo, Barbara Bonney, Philippe Jarrousky, Giuliano Carmignola, Paolo Pandolfo, Ottavio Dantone, Gabriele Cassone, Paul O'Dette, Katia and Marielle Labéque and ensembles like Il Giardino Armonico, Ensemble Zefiro, Ensemble La Fenice, The Rare Fruits Council, Freiburger Barockorchester, RAI Turin Orchestra (under Jeffrey Tate, Roberto Abbado, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos).

Luca Guglielmi has a wide discography of more than 50 CDs, among them 18 solo titles devoted to a repertoire from Frescobaldi to Mozart, for such labels as: Accent, cpo, Vivat, Hänssler Classics, Stradivarius and Elegia. His recordings of Bach's Goldberg Variations and Pasquini's Sonate da gravecembalo have been awarded with the "Diapason d'or"; his last organ recording Bach in Montecassino, for the English label Vivat, received an "Editor's Choice" from the Gramophone magazine.

Luca Guglielmi's dedication to educational projects has led him to teach in several summer early music courses and master classes in Italy (Pamparato and Urbino), France (Barbaste) and Spain (San Feliu de Guixols), basing his teaching exclusively on original treatises and other historical sources. From 2013 he is professor of harpsichord, fortepiano and chamber music at the Escola Superior de Musica de Catalunya (ESMuC), Barcelona.

Booklet for J.S. Bach: The well-tempered Clavier, Book II