J.S. Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier on fortepiano
16 videos • 1,151 views • by by teafruitbat J.S. Bach tried a couple of early fortepianos late in his life. Imagining that Bach had lived a couple decades longer and might have played more fortepianos (or that his sons and students may well have played the WTC on fortepianos in the decades after J.S. Bach's death), I decided to record both books of the Well-Tempered Clavier on the fortepiano. The fortepiano may not be ideal for The Well-Tempered Clavier (and it is certainly easier to play it on the harpsichord---and even the modern piano---than it is on the fortepiano), but I think the Well-Tempered Clavier sounds very nice on my fortepiano. I will release The Well-Tempered Clavier in six batches of eight Preludes and Fugues each; this is also a test for me, to see if my 70-year-old brain has what it takes to memorize them. I may resort to using the score at some time, if necessary. And I may also revise/replace some of the videos from time to time. For my recording, I use the Henle edition by Otto von Irmer, which I prefer to the newer edition. My fortepiano is tuned in even temperament, at A=415 --- or such is my intention. Keeping a fortepiano in tune is a full-time job, and sometimes it slips in the middle of a piece, so the "evenness" of my "even temperament", when it doesn't sound so even, is not my attempt to use some alternative 18th-century tuning system! I thank my friend Khoi Nguyen for his assistance and advice in camera, microphone, and audio/video software matters; though Khoi wasn't present during recordings (I managed all of that myself), I consider him in many ways my producer. If Khoi were doing the audio/video work himself, I'm certain it would be much better, so I am responsible for any faults in that department.