Another recording of Bach’s
Das wohltemperierte
Clavier- Book II, but this time we have a new USP.
This is apparently the first recording of the London autograph score, the
‘Londoner Originalhandschrift’ or ‘Fassung A’.
“The original autograph manuscript having been lost, there remains one
copy in the hand of J.S. Bach and his second wife, Anna Magdalena…
[This version] includes - in relation to the 1744 version, the source that
is now recognised as authoritative - numerous melodic, rhythmic and
ornamental variants.” All of these variants in fact serve to
illustrate that there is in fact no definitive version of DWC Book II. The
1744 copy is deemed authoritative by some as the student who worked on them
was apparently being given Bach’s revisions of that period, but this
is no reason to assume the older copy is no longer musically relevant. Like
all of those versions of Bruckner’s symphonies or that tremendous
unrevised score of Sibelius’s
Violin Concerto, it seems so
improbable that it has taken until now for someone to record the Bach
family’s first fair copy of such legendary music.
Going through each difference will bore everyone to tears, but you
already get an idea from the first C major prelude, which is presented as
unadorned 16
th notes, rather than including those extra twiddly
18
th notes which we all know and love from the third beat of the
first bar and first beat of the second bar, and so on. You’ll find
yourself becoming a twitcher despite yourself, wondering for instance if
those inner voices in the C sharp major prelude are as different as you
suspect. Indeed they are, and you also find yourself wondering why no-one
has taken up this wonderful resource of alternative angles on what is
already some of the most marvellous music written for the keyboard.
Sébastian Guillot’s instrument is recorded in a nice
church acoustic, with a fairly close microphone placement catching all of
the detail without gnawing at your ears with discomforting harshness of
sound. He plays a 1993 reproduction of a Parisian instrument from 1733 by F.
Blanchet, Italian builder O. Fadini creating a nice resonant tone with
plenty of lively colour. The most recent harpsichord version of Bach’s
complete
Wohltemperierte Clavier I listened to was with
Christine Schornsheim on the Capriccio label (see
review), which has more upper partials in the recorded sound,
though with different perspectives it’s tricky to tell if this is more
to do with the instrument or the recording. Either way Guillot’s
playing is very good throughout this Book II. He has an expressive
‘lift’ or rubato used to bring out expression in an instrument
well known for its lack of dynamic capabilities, and this works well most of
the time. He can occasionally ‘drift’ a little in tempo which is
less appealing in something like the
Prelude No. 5 in D major, where
your metronome will have trouble deciding which way to go, or where the ends
of each repeat section lose a little steam, to be picked up again at the
recapitulation. This is a very minor point, and Guillot’s technical
prowess is proven time and again with the most demanding of fugues. Every
player has their own little quirks in Bach, and this is part of what keeps
each new recording alive and interesting. I rarely found myself in argument
with Guillot’s tempi, and moments where a questioning eyebrow might
have been raised were soon overruled by performances of conviction and
considerable power and expression.
Sébastian Guillot has already given us a highly respectable
recording of J.S. Bach’s
Art of Fugue (see
review), and in its own terms this recording of
Das
wohltemperierte ClavierBook II is truly excellent. The
points of difference between this version and those to which you will have
become most accustomed are rarely aspects of the music which leap out at
you, and buyers can rest assured they are acquiring a DWC II which satisfies
in every way each other good harpsichord version does, assuming you like
harpsichord.
Like ‘needing’ the newest version of the iPad, what this
release does provide is the perfect excuse for splashing out and discovering
this incredible music all over again. Treat yourself to little surprises and
big ones, like the extra coda at the end of
Fuga X, BWV 879 or those
funky rhythms of the
Praeludium BWV 887. Go on - you know you want to
…
Dominy Clements
