Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750)
The Well-Tempered Clavier
Book I, BWV 846-869 [111:38]
Book II, BWV 870-893 [143:44]
Christine Schornsheim (harpsichord)
rec. 25-29 May 2010 (Book I) and 17-21 April 2011 (Book II),
Unterlinden Museum, Colmar.
CAPRICCIO 7115 [4 CDs: 53:22 + 58:16 + 74:00 + 69:44]
A gauge as to whether any recording of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier
is likely to become a hit in these parts is if, once set in motion, I find
myself unwilling to stop listening, or prepared to fast-forward in a search
for individual numbers. This particular set has kept me up far later at night
than I have planned on a number of occasions now, and while my place of work
is possibly one of the few where a whispered ‘...Das Wohltemperirte...’
might see one get away with dark rings under the eyes of a morning, there
are limits.
I have to admit having been under the spell of this music played on piano
for a while, but first really discovered it in the 1970s with a recording
to which I’m still very attached, that of Gustav Leonhardt, which I still
have in the form of a chunky box of LPs with BASF on the label. The Deutsche
Harmonia Mundi CD re-release of this seems to be well due for a budget edition.
There are numerous other performers on harpsichord who I’ve found more or
less attractive. Toon Koopman, whose musicianship I otherwise hold in very
high regard, was an almost instant and surprising reject on Erato; Anthony
Newman on 903 Records is good but a trifle imperious, and with a close recording
which can prove fatiguing; Peter Watchorn on the Musica Omnia label is warmly
expressive and arguably too far towards a romantic approach, but more importantly
he seems reluctant to whip up excitement, taking too many tempi on the more
stately side of interesting. A more realistic choice is Ottavio Dantone on
the ARTS label, also giving the music plenty of time to breathe, but far more
on top of the kind of musicality which makes the preludes expressive and inspiring,
and the fugues vibrant and alive. Bob van Asperen is also very fine on the
Virgin Classics label, with a nicely sonorous sound, a good sense of sustain,
superb articulation and plenty of variety in terms of tempi.
These are all essential qualities in a harpsichord recording of this huge
masterpiece. You want a recording which captures the colour of the instrument
without giving you proximity neuralgia, a nice acoustic to balance tone and
clarity, and most importantly, you want an instrument which has a reasonably
subtle attack to the notes, a good sustaining quality and a finely stacked
set of sweetly ringing harmonics. The 1624 Ruckers instrument used in this
fine Capriccio/SWR recording has all of these things as well as a notable
pedigree which is outlined in the booklet. The restorer Christopher Clarke
describes the tuning used for the recording as ‘circulating irregular’ temperament,
‘permitting every key but giving a specific colour to each.’ The evidence
for this can be found in the pungent fragrance given to marvellously chromatic
fugues like No. 12 in F minor from book 1. The recording has been
made in a fairly intimate acoustic, but not so dry as to compromise expression.
To my ears it sounds pretty much ideal. Recorded a year apart, there is a
very slight change in quality between books 1 and 2, with the second volume
sounding as if there is a mild mid-range shift of some kind and maybe a few
millimetres extra distance between the instrument and microphones. This is
by no means disturbing, though my instinct says that book 1 is preferable
and the more natural sounding of the two sessions.
As for the performance there are also barely any criticisms to be made. Christine
Schornsheim has built a strong reputation on a variety of keyboards including
fortepiano, founded in part on a training which has included master-classes
from Gustav Leonhardt, and therefore in a line which is in sympathy with the
kind of playing I already appreciate. She has a superb sense of proportion
and rhythmic accuracy without turning herself into a metronome. There is always
a certain amount of give and take in her little rubati which means
that the pace of the music is not distorted, but that crucial points can be
made and expressive moments are hit naturally and without strange mannerisms.
Ornament is done as directed by Bach or as convention dictates, but is kept
in reserve and used tastefully to enhance stylistic references or rhetorical
features of the score. In her own text on Das Wohltemperirte Clavier,
Christine Schornsheim writes about her personal associations with the healing
qualities of the music, how its ‘energy brought me inner peace ... and helped
my mind focus on the essentials.’ She has been playing these preludes and
fugues for years as do most serious keyboard players. Stepping up several
gears in order to realise this project she spent years exploring every dimension
of the pieces. Performed on her favourite instrument, this has made one of
her ‘biggest dreams come true’, and the sense of joy in achieving this pinnacle
is communicated through just about every bar of these recordings.
Technically, the performances are as good as faultless, though there is a
split note early on, 0:47 seconds into the very first Fugue in C major.
Spectacular runs are spectacular, chords which need spreading are spread,
fugue voices are clear and consistent, changes in registration help keep up
a variety of texture. For instance, the prelude No. 9 in E major
in book one is given the light sparkle of an upper register, the following
fugue has the added lower octave, which makes for a nice organic development.
Schornsheim mirrors this in book 2 with the E major Prelude and Fugue
No. 9, which is again very effective. I am glad to find each prelude
and fugue given a separate track in this release, which always makes hunting
around for specific pieces so much easier.
Picking out highlights in such a superb set of performances is somewhat redundant.
Each time you click onto a new track the response is ‘ooh, that’s good’, and
the ear and mind take you in from there into world of delicious Bachness,
or should that be Bachiosity, or Bachtastic Bachtabulousness ... Book 2 of
the two sets is the less frequently recorded of the two, and so it’s good
to have such a strong pairing of both in one place. The rich resonance of
the Ruckers instrument make the repeated notes which open the prelude No.
3 in C sharp major ripple elegantly; it’s a shame she doesn’t make the
triplet long-short rhythm I feel is more correct for the main theme of the
Prelude No. 5 in D major, but this is an exciting take on the piece
and filled with irrepressible vitality. I love the damped strings of the Prelude
No. 7 in flat major and the grandeur of the following fugue, and one
of my favourites, the F major Prelude No. 11 unfurls splendidly:
Bach’s ornately scaled-up frame for one of the briefest and most playful of
the fugues. The Fugue in B flat minor does sound a little laboured;
the slight delay to the placement of notes in the first half of the opening
subject turning out to be a rod for the back of the entire piece, but such
lapses are extremely rare.
This is a nicely packaged set, with a foldout pack which uses one of the inner
surfaces to give a close-up of the Ruckers harpsichord with its marvellous
landscape on the inside of the lid. A wondrously fresh sounding and superbly
performed recording of the Well-Tempered Clavier, this is very easy to recommend
to those who favour harpsichord versions of the work, as well, I hope, as
being a persuasive introduction to those more enamoured of the work recorded
on piano.
Dominy Clements
A fine synergy: superb instrument, performer and recording.