It consists of 24 preludes and fugues in all major and minor keys. Bach compiled it in 1722, the last year of Kapellmeister for Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen. As an educational work of Bach, the scale is large, and if you are a piano learner, you will definitely go through it. Many of his works, artistically composed beyond the form of learning fugue bound by laws, had a great influence on the composers of later generations, some composers such as Chopin and Shostakovich, left 24 preludes (and fugues).
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♪No. 13 in F-Sharp Major, BWV 858
COLUMN – about the word:well-tempered By the way, it is called “equal temperament” in Japanese, but if you translate the original title directly, it will be “Wohltemperierte Clavier (Germany) = well-tuned” in Japanese. In the time when Bach lived, tuning methods such as just intonation were still the mainstream. It is a tuning method that sounds perfectly beautiful on certain notes (e.g. fifths and thirds). However, it happens that the method works well in one key, but not in another. At the end of the 17th century, A. Werckmeister(1645-1706) devised a new tuning method. The basics are still valid today, the method of dividing the octave into 12 equal semitones = a tuning method close to equal temperament. In modern equal temperament, all pitches other than the octave have a slightly impure sound, but by adjusting the impureness evenly, all pitches resonate well, and it became possible to perform in any key and transpose. Although the truly pure sound was lost, it was a great invention considering the composition method, the expansion of the expression method, and the practicality.
There seems to be a hot debate about which temperament is Bach’s “well tuned” after all, and it is a subject of great interest to performers, musicologists, and tuning technicians. In Japan, “Well-tuned” doesn’t necessarily mean equal temperament (some even say it’s a mistranslation. I don’t think it’s possible to say it’s a mistranslation), but this magnificent work in all keys by applying that advanced method is undeniably a revolutionary, and can be practically played on instruments tuned in equal temperament. Of course, instruments that have been tuned in the classical temperament can also be played, and you can get beautiful sounds that are not found in equal temperament, but they must be tuned for each piece.
I have no intention of arguing here whether it is equal temperament or not. What is important is the fact that you can have fun, learn, and learn something new even after 300 years using an instrument with a different temperament than at the time through this ambitious work. ……Bach may have assumed all temperaments.
＊There seems to be an opinion that “the expression changes depending on the temperament!”, “the sound of equal temperament is dirty!”, but my policy for Bach performance is “beautiful with contemporary (at that time) instruments”. Beautiful with the instruments you have now and the ones you use. I think that’s the way to pass on great classics to the future. There is also research that assumes temperament through piece analysis, so let’s talk about it another time!
〈Prelude〉 A piece written simply and without complexity. I like the simplicity and crispness of the rhythm. Eighth notes should be played staccato. I think it’s a song that’s tense and your heart beats a little faster. From [13], release the tension when you enter C major and play. You need a little ingenuity such as changing the touch. Let the A note of the organ point in [26] resonate well. If there is an organ point, it becomes like an organ song at once, or you can feel a church. I like it because I feel it’s a baroque song.
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