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Suzuki now releases Bach’s second set of 24 preludes and fugues, a key-work in Western music and a cornerstone in the repertoire for both piano and harpsichord. Like its predecessor, Book 2 traverses all the keys of the harmonic system, exploring every tonality during the span of one prelude and one fugue. In his informed liner notes, Bach specialist Professor Yo Tomita discusses various aspects of the collection. These include the interesting connections between individual pieces and other works by Bach, such as the similarities between the prelude in B flat minor and the recitative from the St Matthew Passion containing Jesus’ cry ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me’.
Johann Sebastian Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2: 24 Preludes and Fugues
Prelude No. 1 in C major, BWV 870
Fugue No. 1 in C major, BWV 870
Prelude No. 2 in C minor, BWV 871
Fugue No. 2 in C minor, BWV 871
Prelude No. 3 in C sharp major, BWV 872
Fugue No. 3 in C sharp major, BWV 872
Prelude No. 4 in C sharp minor, BWV 873
Fugue No. 4 in C sharp minor, BWV 873
Prelude No. 5 in D major, BWV 874
Fugue No. 5 in D major, BWV 874
Prelude No. 6 in D minor, BWV 875
Fugue No. 6 in D minor, BWV 875
Prelude No. 7 in E flat major, BWV 876
Fugue No. 7 in E flat major, BWV 876
Prelude No. 8 in D sharp minor, BWV 877
Fugue No. 8 in D sharp minor, BWV 877
Prelude No. 9 in E major, BWV 878
Fugue No. 9 in E major, BWV 878
Prelude No. 10 in E minor, BWV 879
Fugue No. 10 in E minor, BWV 879
Prelude No. 11 in F major, BWV 880
Fugue No. 11 in F major, BWV 880
Prelude No. 12 in F minor, BWV 881
Fugue No. 12 in F minor, BWV 881
Prelude No. 13 in F sharp major, BWV 882
Fugue No. 13 in F sharp major, BWV 882
Prelude No. 14 in F sharp minor, BWV 883
Fugue No. 14 in F sharp minor, BWV 883
Prelude No. 15 in G major, BWV 884
Fugue No. 15 in G major, BWV 884
Prelude No. 16 in G minor, BWV 885
Fugue No. 16 in G minor, BWV 885
Prelude No. 17 in A flat major, BWV 886
Fugue No. 17 in A flat major, BWV 886
Prelude No. 18 in G sharp minor, BWV 887
Fugue No. 18 in G sharp minor, BWV 887
Prelude No. 19 in A major, BWV 888
Fugue No. 19 in A major, BWV 888
Prelude No. 20 in A minor, BWV 889
Fugue No. 20 in A minor, BWV 889
Prelude No. 21 in B flat major, BWV 890
Fugue No. 21 in B flat major, BWV 890
Prelude No. 22 in B flat minor, BWV 891
Fugue No. 22 in B flat minor, BWV 891
Prelude No. 23 in B major, BWV 892
Fugue No. 23 in B major, BWV 892
Prelude No. 24 in B minor, BWV 893
Fugue No. 24 in B minor, BWV 893
March 2009
****
“…Suzuki… often a little slower than others, in one case, the B flat prelude, surprisingly so. There's plenty of energy in his playing elsewhere though - the D major prelude is impressive, as is his clean part-playing and rhythmic drive. His articulation and phrasing are intensely moving, not least in the C sharp prelude.”
2010
“More than a decade has lapsed between instalments of Masaaki Suzuki's Well-Tempered Clavier. However, Book 2 was worth the wait. It lives up to Book 1's high artistic and sonic standards, and possibly surpasses them. Suzuki's intelligent virtuosity operates on several levels. A vocal sensibility consistently determines how phrases begin, end and follow one another to their ultimate destinations. No matter what the basic tempo may be, breath pauses and agogic adjustments naturally mesh into the flow of Bach's lines, rather than work against them. Textural variety also manifests itself through Masaaki's subtle fingerwork. One also senses that Suzuki seriously pondered when and how to arpeggiate chords for maximum expressive and structural purpose, as the C sharp major, F minor and F sharp minor Preludes revealingly display. Yet the D major and B minor Fugues prove that Suzuki can deliver straightforward, even brash vitality when he choses. As before, Suzuki plays an attractive and vibrantly recorded Willem Kroesbergen harpsichord modelled on a period Ruckers instrument, and Yo Tomita provides fascinating, informative booklet-notes. In all, Suzuki's heartfelt synthesis of scholarship and musicality will provide repeated listening pleasure in one of the finest harpsichord recordings of Book 2 available.”
April 2009
“…Suzuki's heartfelt synthesis of scholarship and musicality will provide repeated listening pleasure in one of the finest harpsichord recordings of Book 2 available.”
27th February 2009
**
“Suzuki is a great Bachian, but his treatment of these pieces seems altogether too awestruck and reflective. It's desperately heavy going at times, with the playing only occasionally sparking into rhythmic life. And the heavy-duty harpsichord he uses, very closely recorded, seems only to emphasise that stodginess.”
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Prelude No. 1 in C major, BWV 870
