| Johann Sebastian Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier I: Piano or Harpsichord:Format : Sheet music BWV 846-869-The Well-Tempered Clavier I BWV 846-869 - 48 Preludes & Fugues. Harpsichord Piano.Johann Sebastian Bach's idea of composing a collection of preludes and fugues in all major and minor keys was new and revolutionary in the second decade of the 18th century particularly when considering that the tuning in use up top then distributed pure and impure intervals irregularly throughout the keys. The result was that one could play very well in many keys but not at all in others. Bach was the first composer to conquer the entire breadth pf tonality in his Das Wohltemperirte Clavier (The Well-Tempered Clavier) thus providing the musical world with amasterpiece of keyboard literature. The Well-Tempered Clavier is the Old Testament Beethoven's sonatas the New. We must believe in both. Hans von BülowThe preludes and fugues of The Well-Tempered Clavier embrace an entire cosmos of compositional devices and musical characters the ne plus ultra of unity through diversity . Here Bach not only presented the sum total of keyboard artistry in his day but foresaw its future evolution. His treatment of the keys marked a turning point in music history. Instrumentation : Publisher : |