Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Prelude
2. Fugue
3. Prelude
4. Fugue
5. Prelude
6. Fugue
7. Prelude
8. Fugue
9. Prelude
10. Fugue
11. Prelude
12. Fugue
13. Prelude
14. Fugue
15. Prelude
16. Fugue
17. Prelude
18. Fugue
19. Prelude
20. Fugue
21. Prelude
22. Fugue
23. Prelude
24. Fugue

Disc 2:

1. Prelude
2. Fugue
3. Prelude
4. Fugue
5. Prelude
6. Fugue
7. Prelude
8. Fugue
9. Prelude
10. Fugue
11. Prelude
12. Fugue
13. Prelude
14. Fugue
15. Prelude
16. Fugue
17. Prelude
18. Fugue
19. Prelude
20. Fugue
21. Prelude
22. Fugue
23. Prelude
24. Fugue

Disc 3:

1. Prelude
2. Fugue
3. Prelude
4. Fugue
5. Prelude
6. Fugue
7. Prelude
8. Fugue
9. Prelude
10. Fugue
11. Prelude
12. Fugue
13. Prelude
14. Fugue
15. Prelude
16. Fugue
17. Prelude
18. Fugue
19. Prelude
20. Fugue
21. Prelude
22. Fugue
23. Prelude
24. Fugue

Disc 4:

1. Prelude
2. Fugue
3. Prelude
4. Fugue
5. Prelude
6. Fugue
7. Prelude
8. Fugue
9. Prelude
10. Fugue
11. Prelude
12. Fugue
13. Prelude
14. Fugue
15. Prelude
16. Fugue
17. Prelude
18. Fugue
19. Prelude
20. Fugue
21. Prelude
22. Fugue
23. Prelude
24. Fugue

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3316 in Music
• Released on: 2007-08-27
• Number of discs: 4
• Format: Box set
• Dimensions: .39 pounds
• Running time: 263 minutes

Customer Reviews

A superb 48 reissued
The 48 Preludes and Fugues form one of Bach's greatest works for the keyboard. There is a vast range of pieces which are charming, dramatic, joyful, melancholy...you name it. They are all beautifully done with Bach's unrivalled counterpoint and sense of structure and are an unalloyed pleasure from the famous and lovely first Prelude from Book One to the mighty, intense B minor fugue which concludes Book Two.

Angela Hewitt plays Bach superbly. Her work has attracted universal admiration, and these discs show why. Her technique is impeccable, so that each line is perfectly articulated while blending ideally with the others. She respects and conveys the structure of the music while bringing out its wonderful range of emotions and colours. There is just sufficient rubato (speeding up and slowing down) to make the music really speak to us, but it never intrudes as in some other performances and she allows Bach's magnificent music to blossom under her fingers. This is my favourite recording of the 48, which is very high praise given the tremendous quality of the competition.

The only reason not to buy this set is if you have a rooted objection to Bach played on the piano and can only tolerate a harpsichord. I also have Davitt Moroney's excellent recording on the harpsichord Bach - Well Tempered Clavierand enjoy that, too, but the harpsichord does not have any dynamic range and the ability to play loudly or quietly when required on the piano makes the Hewitt performance the one I would choose overall.

I bought the originals years ago and the two sets cost over £50 between them. I have never regretted a single penny. These are recordings to last a lifetime: I still play them very regularly and with enormous pleasure. Now that these discs are reissued at budget price they are a real bargain, too, and recommended in the strongest possible terms.

Yes, but...
Hewitt's set has been rightly praised for its clarity, and at this price is definitely one of the better sets of the 48 around, if you like your Bach on piano. Hewitt uses the dynamics of the piano subtly but effectively, and has a wonderful way of bringing out the inner voices and the contrapuntal qualities. Great value for money too.

BUT, I don't feel a huge emotional engagement. This is Bach as music for the mind, but most of the time Bach writes for the heart and the feet as well. In particular I miss the sense of dance which is never far away from Bach's rhythms. Kenneth Gilbert on harpsichord for DG Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier IBach - The Well-Tempered Clavier IIremains my favourite, and for piano, call me an old ham, but Richter's "romantic", reverberant, totally committed recording on RCABach - The Well-tempered Clavier, Books 1 & 2 is spell-binding, if not for purists.

Wonderful
I never tire of Bach's preludes and fugues; they provide constant stimulation for the brain whilst opening up the beart. This set has real balance and provides a wonderful contrast to Gould's wildly eccentric set. Warmly recommended.