Bach, J S: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2
Masaaki Suzuki (harpsichord)
…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...
Bach, J S: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2
Masaaki Suzuki (harpsichord)
Purchase product
…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...
About
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’.
Contents and tracklist
Work length2:39:59
- Masaaki Suzuki
- Recorded: January 2005
- Recording Venue: Kobe Sholin Women's University Chapel, Japan
Prelude No. 1 in C Major, BWV 870
Track length2:49
Fugue No. 1 in C Major, BWV 870
Track length1:53
Prelude No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 871
Track length3:26
Fugue No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 871
Track length1:53
Prelude No. 3 in C-Sharp Major, BWV 872
Track length2:02
Fugue No. 3 in C-Sharp Major, BWV 872
Track length2:03
Prelude No. 4 in C-Sharp Minor, BWV 873
Track length4:10
Fugue No. 4 in C-Sharp Minor, BWV 873
Track length2:39
Prelude No. 5 in D Major, BWV 874
Track length5:18
Fugue No. 5 in D Major, BWV 874
Track length2:25
Prelude No. 6 in D Minor, BWV 875
Track length1:35
Fugue No. 6 in D Minor, BWV 875
Track length1:58
Prelude No. 7 in E-Flat Major, BWV 876
Track length3:30
Fugue No. 7 in E-Flat Major, BWV 876
Track length2:19
Prelude No. 8 in D-Sharp Minor, BWV 877
Track length3:54
Fugue No. 8 in D-Sharp Minor, BWV 877
Track length3:17
Prelude No. 9 in E Major, BWV 878
Track length6:21
Fugue No. 9 in E Major, BWV 878
Track length3:08
Prelude No. 10 in E Minor, BWV 879
Track length3:45
Fugue No. 10 in E Minor, BWV 879
Track length3:04
Prelude No. 11 in F Major, BWV 880
Track length4:05
Fugue No. 11 in F Major, BWV 880
Track length1:51
Prelude No. 12 in F Minor, BWV 881
Track length5:11
Fugue No. 12 in F Minor, BWV 881
Track length2:48
Prelude No. 13 in F-Sharp Major, BWV 882
Track length3:04
Fugue No. 13 in F-Sharp Major, BWV 882
Track length3:26
Prelude No. 14 in F-Sharp Minor, BWV 883
Track length3:13
Fugue No. 14 in F-Sharp Minor, BWV 883
Track length5:06
Prelude No. 15 in G Major, BWV 884
Track length2:23
Fugue No. 15 in G Major, BWV 884
Track length1:12
Prelude No. 16 in G Minor, BWV 885
Track length3:00
Fugue No. 16 in G Minor, BWV 885
Track length3:11
Prelude No. 17 in A-Flat Major, BWV 886
Track length4:22
Fugue No. 17 in A-Flat Major, BWV 886
Track length2:36
Prelude No. 18 in G-Sharp Minor, BWV 887
Track length4:24
Fugue No. 18 in G-Sharp Minor, BWV 887
Track length5:08
Prelude No. 19 in A Major, BWV 888
Track length2:16
Fugue No. 19 in A Major, BWV 888
Track length1:30
Prelude No. 20 in A Minor, BWV 889
Track length6:02
Fugue No. 20 in A Minor, BWV 889
Track length1:58
Prelude No. 21 in B-Flat Major, BWV 890
Track length9:55
Fugue No. 21 in B-Flat Major, BWV 890
Track length2:55
Prelude No. 22 in B-Flat Minor, BWV 891
Track length3:13
Fugue No. 22 in B-Flat Minor, BWV 891
Track length5:13
Prelude No. 23 in B Major, BWV 892
Track length1:47
Fugue No. 23 in B Major, BWV 892
Track length3:52
Prelude No. 24 in B Minor, BWV 893
Track length2:22
Fugue No. 24 in B Minor, BWV 893
Track length2:27
Awards and reviews
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.
