The Glenn Gould Edition - Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
It's rather amazing today, when recordings of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier practically fall of the shelves, to recall just how unusual it was back in the 1960s for a pianist to undertake to record this amazing work. It's probably fair to say that until Glenn Gould got his fingers around it, Bach's music was used for teaching purposes more than anything else. What Gould proves in this essential set is that Bach is decidedly not just a threat to hold over the head of budding pianists but a joy to listen to. One of Gould's very greatest recordings. --David Hurwitz

The Glenn Gould Edition - Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, Music, Johann Sebastian Bach, Glenn Gould, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Contrapuntal/Improvisatory Keyboard Music, Keyboard, Orchestral & Symphonic
The Glenn Gould Edition - Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Best CD I Own.
  • Your Inner Voice is Calling
  • Fascinating
  • Gould's unique sound
  • Listen to a more conventional recording first.
 The Glenn Gould Edition - Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I
Johann Sebastian Bach , and Glenn Gould
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000028NI
Release Date: 1994-01-11

Tracks:

  1. Prelude And Fugue No. 1 In C Major, BWV 846: Praeludium
  2. Prelude And Fugue No. 1 In C Major, BWV 846: Fuga
  3. Prelude And Fugue No. 2 In C Minor, BWV 847: Praeludium
  4. Prelude And Fugue No. 2 In C Minor, BWV 847: Fuga
  5. Prelude And Fugue No. 3 In C-Sharp Major, BWV 848: Praeludium
  6. Prelude And Fugue No. 3 In C-Sharp Major, BWV 848: Fuga
  7. Prelude And Fugue No. 3 In C-Sharp Minor, BWV 849: Praeludium
  8. Prelude And Fugue No. 3 In C-Sharp Minor, BWV 849: Fuga
  9. Prelude And Fugue No. 5 In D Major, BWV 850: Praeludium
  10. Prelude And Fugue No. 5 In D Major, BWV 850: Fuga
  11. Prelude And Fugue No. 6 In D Minor, BWV 851: Praeludium
  12. Prelude And Fugue No. 6 In D Minor, BWV 851: Fuga
  13. Prelude And Fugue No. 7 In E-Flat Major, BWV 852: Praeludium
  14. Prelude And Fugue No. 7 In E-Flat Major, BWV 852: Fuga
  15. Prelude In E-Flat Minor And Fugue In D-Sharp Minor No. 8, BWV 853: Praeludium
  16. Prelude In E-Flat Minor And Fugue In D-Sharp Minor No. 8, BWV 853: Fuga
  17. Prelude Fugue No. 9 In E Major, BWV 854: Praeludium
  18. Prelude Fugue No. 9 In E Major, BWV 854: Fuga
  19. Prelude And Fugue No. 10 In E Minor, BWV 855: Praeludium
  20. Prelude And Fugue No. 10 In E Minor, BWV 855: Fuga Fugue No. 10 In E Minor, BWV 855
  21. Prelude And Fugue No. 11 In F Major, BWV 856: Praeludium
  22. Prelude And Fugue No. 11 In F Major, BWV 856: Fuga
  23. Prelude And Fugue No. 12 In F Minor, BWV 857: Praeludium
  24. Prelude And Fugue No. 12 In F Minor, BWV 857: Fuga

Tracks:

  1. Prelude And Fugue No.13 In F-Sharp Major, BWV 858: Praeludium
  2. Prelude And Fugue No.13 In F-Sharp Major, BWV 858: Fuga
  3. Prelude And Fugue No.14 In F-Sharp Minor, BWV 859: Praeludium
  4. Prelude And Fugue No.14 In F-Sharp Minor, BWV 859: Fuga
  5. Prelude And Fugue No.15 In G Major, BWV 860: Praeludium
  6. Prelude And Fugue No.15 In G Major, BWV 860: Fuga
  7. Prelude And Fugue No.16 In G Minor, BWV 861: Praeludium
  8. Prelude And Fugue No.16 In G Minor, BWV 861: Fuga
  9. Prelude And Fugue No.17 In A-Flat Major, BWV 862: Praeludium
  10. Prelude And Fugue No.17 In A-Flat Major, BWV 862: Fuga
  11. Prelude And Fugue No.18 In G-Sharp Minor, BWV 863: Praeludium
  12. Prelude And Fugue No.18 In G-Sharp Minor, BWV 863: Fuga
  13. Prelude And Fugue No.19 In A Major, BWV 864: Praeludium
  14. Prelude And Fugue No.19 In A Major, BWV 864: Fuga
  15. Prelude And Fugue No.20 In A Minor, BWV 865: Praeludium
  16. Prelude And Fugue No.20 In A Minor, BWV 865: Fuga
  17. Prelude And Fugue No.21 In B-Flat Major, BWV 866: Praeludium
  18. Prelude And Fugue No.21 In B-Flat Major, BWV 866: Fuga
  19. Prelude And Fugue No.22 In B-Flat Minor, BWV 867: Praeludium
  20. Prelude And Fugue No.22 In B-Flat Minor, BWV 867: Fuga
  21. Prelude And Fugue No.23 In B Major, BWV 868: Praeludium
  22. Prelude And Fugue No.23 In B Major, BWV 868: Fuga
  23. Prelude And Fugue No.24 In B Minor, BWV 869: Praeludium
  24. Prelude And Fugue No.24 In B Minor, BWV 869: Fuga

Amazon.com essential recording

It's rather amazing today, when recordings of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier practically fall of the shelves, to recall just how unusual it was back in the 1960s for a pianist to undertake to record this amazing work. It's probably fair to say that until Glenn Gould got his fingers around it, Bach's music was used for teaching purposes more than anything else. What Gould proves in this essential set is that Bach is decidedly not just a threat to hold over the head of budding pianists but a joy to listen to. One of Gould's very greatest recordings. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Best CD I Own........2007-07-13

If I could give this album 10 stars, I would. To me it is the platonic ideal for music. These 24 pieces from Bach are important fundamental building blocks for all of music, and Gould interprets them in ways that allows their greatness to come through. These performances never get stale. I started my toddler kids off in listening to both WTC Book 1 and 2, and they loved them immediately. Even now, if given a choice of what CD to put on they will usually choose one of the WTC CD's. I tend to be underdramatic, but when I listen to this composer and this performer and see how my kids respond, I feel like its a gift from God.

5 out of 5 stars Your Inner Voice is Calling.......2007-03-01

Let's admit it right off the bat - these are individualistic recordings that do not sound like anything you've ever heard. That's probably why I value them so much, that and their brilliant artistic temperament. Bach can sound boring, particularly by those who insist on a rigid (rather than flowing) tempo and an emotionless rendition that approaches machine-like quality. This is NOT the WTC you are used to but it is a work of art unto itself.

Whether it is a Brahms Intermezzo, a work by Scriabin or these creations, there is no one who can bring out that inner melody with such clarity and perfection. It's almost as if his fingers operated totally independent of each other in a way we have yet to discover. At times, he manages to find inner voices that cannot be seen even when looking at the music. Then there is his technique of focusing a work - from the entire piece to a movement to a section, phrase, chord and finally a single note. You know that every single note sounds as it does for a reason known only to Gould. As usual, I have trouble choosing a "favorite" although I admit that I prefer the minor over major because of their alleged "richness".

Questions of authenticity or "how they were meant to be heard" are irrelevant. Chopin wrote for a small pianoforte, not the Grand we hear today. Who wants a tiny "original" chorus of Handel's Messiah or Julius Reubke's Organ Sonata heard on a pre-French Romantic organ? By all means, this is a recording for the ages - buy and enjoy.

5 out of 5 stars Fascinating.......2007-02-13

I was quite surprised to read other reviewer's comments about Gould not following Bach's 'intentions'. Given that there is one prelude with a tempo mark and almost no dynamic markings in the entire 48, it would be hard to find his intentions except by assuming that the tradition is 100 % accurate. I find this recording interesting, most of all because of the lack these days of originality. Gould was original, but that was not his goal. He had a connection with the music of Bach and felt that he had something to say with it that no one else had. It's refreshing to hear something so sincerely original as these unconventional renditions. The fugues are especially amazing. His control over each voice is nothing short of spectacular. I highly recommend this to anyone who is tired of hearing the Prelude in C major played the same way by everyone else.

5 out of 5 stars Gould's unique sound.......2006-06-02

No pianist has been able to play these pieces as steadily and with as much control as Gould, nor with his reverence and clarity in fugues such as the c# and e-flat minor. In the C# major prelude in Book I Gould plays a wrong note in bar 37--a b natural for b#--but this more minor-sounding wrong line actually sounds interesting and maybe even better, and it contrasts with bar 45. I did not realize this elusive sound was a wrong note until relistening after a break of many years. It had to be either a deliberate change or a finger slip--no edition of the piece contains that note. There is also a finger slip in the C# major fugue on the 'and' of beat one in bar 17 where Gould bumps into an f#--that could not be deliberate. These are the only note errors I have found in Gould's recordings, and I don't know that any outtakes have been released of the WTC.
Carefully listening one can also detect the splice between takes in the a minor fugue in Gould's Book I, and other splices in II. Other controversial things await the listener in this immortal record.

5 out of 5 stars Listen to a more conventional recording first........2006-02-16

I highly recommend Gould's recording of WTC books one and two with the caveat that his performances reach the peak of the unpredictable and can be rather traumatizing to the uninitiated.

Glenn Gould's interpretation of The WTC is a manifesto of his musical opinions, saturated with absolute confidence. Gould sees Bach as a sibling to be rivaled and conveys his ideas, from the sentimental to the vulgar to the insane, with perfect clarity.

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