Bach - WTC II Prelude and fugue no. 17 in A-flat major BWV 886 | Netherlands Bach Society

In this challenging diptych - performed here for All of Bach by Christine Schornsheim - pieces from very different periods come together. Bach wrote his prelude - a good example of Bach’s late style, in which the modern ‘sonata form’ determines how it unfolds - around 1741. The fugue began life around 1720 as the fughetta BWV 901, and almost 25 years later it was given a real upgrade. It demonstrates just how much freedom Bach has acquired over the years.
Twenty years after his first collection of music in every key imaginable, Bach completed a second 'Wohltemperirte Clavier'. We recorded his first book of Preludes and Fugues at the homes of 24 different musicians. For this second part, performed in its entirety by Christine Schornsheim, we chose 12 very different locations in Utrecht, to celebrate the 900th anniversary of our home city. Christine Schornsheim on the choice of the Provincial House for this recording: “Proud, perfect and grand. The prelude is proud and lofty like this skyscraper. The fugue is sonorous and with a generous character.”
Recorded for the project All of Bach on 22 April 2022 at the Provincial House, Utrecht, the Netherlands. If you want to help us complete All of Bach, please subscribe to our channel bit.ly/2vhCeFB and consider donating bit.ly/3J5uprM.
For the interview with Christine Schornsheim on the Wohltemperirte Clavier II and the process of recording this in its entirety, see • Schornsheim on the Wel...
For more information on BWV 886 and this production go to www.bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/...
All of Bach is a project of the Netherlands Bach Society, offering high-quality film recordings of the works by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by the Netherlands Bach Society and its guest musicians. Visit our free online treasury for more videos and background material on www.bachvereniging.nl/en/allo.... For concert dates and tickets go to www.bachvereniging.nl/en/conc....
Christine Schornsheim, harpsichordist
Harpsichord: Bruce Kennedy, 1989 after Michael Mietke
0:00 Prelude
4:11 Fugue

[@bach]

0:08 Prelude 4:11 Fugue

[@peerappel2012]

FYI: the labels in the timebar of the video are not correct (fugue starts at 2:51 instead)

[@jackcheng9191]

​@@peerappel2012 FYI: Please listen carefully again and you will find that the labels are correct.

[@aimilios439]

That fugue finale, those deceptive harmonies! Greatly played, thanks!

[@francoiseboita4593]

Magnifique jeu et position de main, comme nous l'a enseigné notre professeur et musicologue Antoine Geoffroy de Chaume à Poitiers dans les années 80 , et quelle belle interprétation !

[@clairewonderfullife8819]

Thank you so much NBS for taking time and money to make these awsome videos !

[@ronrice1931]

Fantastic. Her phrasing is unsurpassed.

[@tiltonm.e2270]

Excellent as always! ❤

[@silvandesmit]

Wonderful crisp sound. Well done, Christine!

[@lenaN5k8Q9]

Absolutely wonderfully played🍃thank you

[@peerappel2012]

Amazing, especially the fugues is one of my favorites :-)

[@AlexDeBronhe]

Хорошее исполнение, темп и удержания со вкусом.

[@andrewblencowe289]

So beautiful.

[@sebastiaocosta4449]

Bravo 🎉

[@espressonoob]

my favourite of the second book and probably the entire series, thank you very much for this performance.

[@jamesliu6844]

the fugue should start at 4:11

[@bach]

Thank you for catching this, James! The typo has been fixed.

[@SilvioNobre]

Gracioso 💖

[@TheBeetlePlayz]

Wonderful

[@frenchimp]

This fugue is amazing.

[@BaumFreund]

Sehr virtuos ! Danke für das brliante Spiel

[@jamesliu6844]

I personally prefer a slower interpretation however this is also quite nice

[@woosunglee3808]

감사 !!!

[@user-qd9qb1eu9j]

皆様の活動は、半世紀前のアルヒーフの輝かしい活動の再現です！ﾘﾋﾀー、ニコレ、バルヒャ、ブラボー！皆様ブラボー！ ありがとう

[@tatjanamarinkovic43]

❤.

[@aripiispanen9349]

♪♫♥

[@vinkelheimer]

Wonderful playing! I notice that the harpsichord was tuned almost a half step flat. Anyone care to comment on this?

[@bach]

We use to perform on baroque pitch, A=415 Hertz. This sounds half a tone lower than modern pitch (a piano for example). Please keep posted, an explanatory video on pitch is in the making.

[@vinkelheimer]

That makes sense. Thanks for all your wonderful videos. I have been working through both volumes of the WTC, and hearing your performances has been very helpful.

[@adi_demian]

Is this played with equal temperament tuning?!

[@aimilios439]

I really can't tell, it does sound like equal.

[@garrysmodsketches]

No

[@adi_demian]

@Graphomaniac what temperament is it then? It has not much A flat flavor.

[@bach]

Hey there, the tuning we used was Neidthardt's "Für eine große Stadt" tuning. It has three pure fifths and nine tempered fifths. Three of the tempered fifths are narrowed by 1/6 of the Pythagorean comma (C-G, G-D, D-A) and the remaining six by 1/12 of the Pythagorean comma (A-E, B-F#, F#-C#, C#-G#, Bb-F, F-C). More info: www.charlston.co.uk/temperaments.htm#Neidhardt

[@BsktImp]

"no. 17 in No. 17..." Did Bach incorporate a P&F inside another P&F? [jk] ☺

[@bach]

Thank you so much for your correction, the typo has now been fixed.

[@BsktImp]

@@bach No. Thank _you_ all for the first-class work your Society and collaborators do!