Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor Rob Barnett Editor in Chief
John Quinn Contributing Editor Ralph Moore Webmaster
David Barker Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf MusicWeb Founder Len Mullenger
Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750) Das wohltemperirte Clavier (The Well-tempered Clavier),
Book II, BWV870-893 (1739 or earlier – 1744) CD1
No.1 in C major [2:16+1:44]
No.2 in c minor [2:47+2:36]
No.3 in C# major [1:36+1:33]
No.4 in c# minor [3:47+2:18]
No.5 in D major [5:13+3:00]
No.6 in d minor [1:37+1:47]
No.7 in E flat major [2:44+1:38]
No.8 in d# minor [4:35+4:20]
No.9 in E major [4:44+3:35]
No.10 in e minor [3:26+2:42]
No.11 in F major [3:25+1:33]
No.12 in f minor [2:47+1:56] CD2
No.13 in F# major [3:47+2:20]
No.14 in f# minor [2:52+4:59]
No.15 in G major [2:47+1:12]
No.16 in g minor [2:06+2:53]
No.17 in A flat major [4:10+2:19]
No.18 in g# minor [5:03+4:27]
No.19 in A major [1:48+1:39]
No.20 in a minor [3:43+1:49]
No.21 in B flat major [4:47+1:59]
No.22 in b flat minor [2:58+5:36]
No.23 in B major [2:10+4:10]
No.24 in b minor [1:54+2:05]
Bob van Asperen
(Christian Zell harpsichord, 1728)
rec. September 1988 and March 1989, Museum für Kunst und
Gewerbe, Hamburg. DDD. VIRGIN
VERITAS 3 85795 2 [68:16 + 73:44]
This 2-CD set
completes the super-bargain-price reissue of Bob van Asperen’s
recording of the complete Well-tempered Clavier, Book I having
already been reissued on 3 49963 2. The whole set was already
excellent value on its earlier 4-CD mid-price issue; it now
sweeps the board for versions not performed on the piano,
since the Kirkpatrick (clavichord) and Gilbert (harpsichord)
sets remain at mid-price. Arguably van Asperen would be the
winner, even on a level playing-field.
Most of the
currently-available versions of the Well-tempered Clavier
are performed on the piano. A comparable bargain for those
preferring the piano in these works is about to be reissued
by Hyperion in September 2007 in the form of Angela Hewitt’s
first-class performances, gathered together in a 4-CD set
on CDS44291/4, a better bargain than the ubiquitous Jenö Jandó’s
Naxos piano versions, well regarded though these are in some
quarters. Reviewing her recording of Book II on this site
in September 1999, Gerald Fenech wrote “With
such a persuasive and talented guide as Angela Hewitt, the
art of learning becomes transcendental.” I leave you to follow
the hyperlink to that review without further comment: I cannot
profess to be a fan of Bach on the piano, even in performances
as excellent as Angela Hewitt’s. There is some evidence that
Bach intended some of the preludes and fugues in Book II
to be played on the new-fangled fortepiano, possibly to demonstrate
the virtues of that instrument, but the fortepiano of Bach’s
day was almost as far removed as the harpsichord from the
modern concert grand. Perhaps some enterprising company will
one day record a set on the fortepiano.
By the time
you read this review, therefore, that will be the situation
sewn up for both harpsichord- and piano-fanciers. For those
preferring a single super-bargain CD of ‘highlights’, Australian
Universal have recently reissued Wilhelm Kempff’s DG recording
of twelve preludes and fugues from the complete Well-tempered
Clavier on the super-bargain Eloquence label (457 653-2).
End of review!? Not quite.
My comparison
for this review was with Ton Koopman’s recording, which used
to be available on an Erato 2-CD Bonsaï set and is surely
a candidate for reissue on Warner Apex; I believe it to be
currently available only in a multi-disc box. van Asperen
and Koopman adopt much the same tempi for the opening preludes,
but even here they sound very different: van Asperen more
forthright, brighter and more forwardly recorded, Koopman
more recessed and more thoughtful, in a slightly more reverberant
acoustic. The Virgin recording sounds fine if played at a
little below normal volume.
To some extent
this is a matter of the differences between the instruments
and locations, van Asperen playing an original Christian
Zell instrument of 1728 in its home, the Museum für Kunst
und Gewerbe in Hamburg, probably not an ideal location for
the sound engineers. Koopman plays a 1978 Willem Kroesbergen
reconstruction of a Ruckers instrument. The Zell is a two-manual
instrument; no information is given in the Erato booklet
about the harpsichord or the location of the recording. To
some extent, too, it is a matter of interpretative differences,
van Asperen offering the more straightforward – but not inexpressive – interpretation,
Koopman more idiosyncratic, though less so than in his sister
recording of Book I, where he is inclined at times to be
wilful.
In fact, the
information given in the Erato booklet is the barest minimum,
with no notes at all about the music. The Virgin booklet
is a little better but, as usual from this source, far from
detailed. The English and German notes offer the beginner
no information at all concerning the meaning of ‘well-tempered’.
Those whose French is up to it will find the notes in that
language more informative. Briefly, the tuning of keyboard
instruments is something of a compromise: tuning any instrument
in perfect fifths from, say, middle C, eventually leads to
a C several octaves higher which is discordant with the original
C, necessitating the first compromise. Then, since C# is
not exactly the same note as D flat, a well-tempered instrument
is tuned between the two – otherwise there would be an unmanageable
number of keys, the instrument would be elephantine, and
the number of chords which the player’s hand could manage
would be very limited. Early attempts to solve the problem
meant that keyboards could not manage all 24 keys which can
be performed on the members of the violin family. The modern
solution, known as equal temperament, is a development of
the well-tempered systems developed in the late 18th-century,
hence the name which Bach gave to the first book and which
has been extended to the second book. For more detail on
the various temperaments, look at an informative online article
by organ historian and designer Stephen Bicknell.
Bach was not
the first to write a series of 24 pieces in ascending order
throughout the keys – indeed, the E major Fugue of Book II
may have been influenced by a similar work by Johann Fischer – and
we do not know why he wrote two such collections, over twenty
years apart. The title page of Book I suggests that Bach
wished to present himself as one well versed in musical theory
at a time when he was bidding for the post at Leipzig – a
post for which he was at first rejected, partly because of
his lack of academic qualifications.
Hence the ‘48’,
as the two collections have come to be known, have contributed
to the impression that Bach is a cerebral composer, when
nothing could be further from the truth. In Bach’s day enjoying
and learning to understand music were inseparable, a trick
we have lost sight of today. It is perfectly possible to
enjoy the ‘48’ without knowing anything about equal temperament – as,
indeed, those who buy this Virgin set must perforce do unless
they read up on the subject elsewhere. As the anonymous writer
of the French note in the Virgin booklet puts it: “There
is no trace of austerity in the Well-tempered Clavier, but
rather a spirituality which verges on exuberance. Diversity,
freedom, concision and imagination are the rule … [in the
second book there is] incalculable richness, vast dimensions,
sumptuous polyphony and greater power [than in the first.]” It
is on these counts that ultimately van Asperen is preferable
to Koopman, who is apt to sound a little too reflective,
cerebral and didactic at times.
The Virgin
booklet points to the c minor and d# minor preludes as examples
of van Asperen’s employment of the variety available on his
two-manual instrument, allowing him the opportunity of using
contrasted manuals on repeats. The two players adopt very
similar approaches to the c minor prelude, with van Asperen
slightly the slower at 3:47, though Koopman at 3:31 paradoxically
sounds slightly the more measured, and both vary their playing
to some extent in the repeat.
The effect
of the varied repeat is rather more noticeable in the case
of van Asperen’s version of the d# minor prelude, somewhat
less so in Koopman’s version – and once again Koopman takes
a few seconds less but sounds more relaxed. Just to
confuse the issue, Erato describe this prelude as in E flat
minor – a difficult proposition with a key signature of six
sharps with not a flat in sight! In neither case, however,
does the variety second time around leap out of the speakers
at the listener: piano-fanciers would doubtless retort that
there is only a limited degree of variety possible even on
a two-manual harpsichord by comparison with a concert grand.
Unless, of course, one were to revert to the huge grand-piano-size
harpsichords once favoured by such as Rafael Puyana. The
argument, of course, is that if Bach had known the capabilities
of the modern grand piano, he would have revelled in it;
to which my reply is that he would have written different
music. If I want to hear a composer use the full dynamic
range of the piano I go to the romantic warhorses such as
Liszt; with Bach I expect the variety to be more subtle.
The swings-and-horses
situation between van Asperen and Koopman continues until
the very last prelude and fugue, in b minor. In the prelude
Koopman both sounds and is, for once, slower
at 2:24 and van Asperen, at 1:56, does sound slightly too
hurried here, though his technique is not at all challenged
by the faster tempo, as if he is letting his hair down now
that the end is in sight. In the fugue, however, it is van
Asperen who transforms what begins by sounding like a cerebral
interpretation into an enjoyable experience. His initial
spelling out of the theme sounds rather like a primary school
teacher’s careful explanation but once the fugue is underway
the didactic touch changes to playful enjoyment – though
not quite the “poised elegance” which the booklet notes speak
of. Koopman’s version does, perhaps, sound more elegant,
but at the expense of the exuberance.
If ultimately
my preference is for van Asperen, to the extent that I intend
to replace my recordings of Book I with his, I think it a
shame that the Koopman set is not currently available, either
as a 4-CD box or as two 2-CD sets. The recently reissued
2-CD Koopman set of Handel’s Organ Concertos (Apex 2564 62760
2) is a superb bargain and one which I cannot recommend too
strongly. An Apex reissue of Koopman’s Bach would be almost
as welcome, though only as a supplement to van Asperen, whose
versions of both books of the ‘48’ I urge you to buy.
Finally, since
I usually try to point readers in the direction of free copies
of the scores, I offer a hyperlink to a website where
out-of-copyright scores of the whole of Book II may be downloaded,
piece by piece.
Reviews
from previous months Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the
discs reviewed. details We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin
Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to
which you refer.