“These are performances in which tempos, phrasing, articulation and the execution of ornaments are convincing,” wrote Gramophone of Jarrett’s first recorded account of The Well-Tempered Clavier. “Both instrument and performer serve as unobtrusive media through which the music emerges without enhancement.” In this live recording from Troy, New York, made in March 1987, just one month after his studio recording of the work, Keith Jarrett addresses the challenges of Bach’s great set of preludes and fugues once more. Part of the goal is transparency, to bring the listener closer to the composer. As Jarrett explained at the time: “The very direction of the lines, the moving lines of notes, are inherently expressive…When I play Bach, I hear almost the process of thought. Any colouration has nothing to do with this process.“

• - 1 -

  • 1. Prelude No. 1 In C Major, Bwv 846 (02:03)
  • 2. Fugue No. 1 In C Major, Bwv 846 (01:49)
  • 3. Prelude No. 2 In C Minor, Bwv 847 (01:53)
  • 4. Fugue No. 2 In C Minor, Bwv 847 (01:32)
  • 5. Prelude No. 3 In C-Sharp Major, Bwv 848 (01:17)
  • 6. Fugue No. 3 In C-Sharp Major, Bwv 848 (02:08)
  • 7. Prelude No. 4 In C-Sharp Minor, Bwv 849 (02:19)
  • 8. Fugue No. 4 In C-Sharp Minor, Bwv 849 (04:03)
  • 9. Prelude No. 5 In D Major, Bwv 850 (01:12)
  • 10. Fugue No. 5 In D Major, Bwv 850 (01:33)
  • 11. Prelude No. 6 In D Minor, Bwv 851 (01:43)
  • 12. Fugue No. 6 In D Minor, Bwv 851 (01:58)
  • 13. Prelude No. 7 In E-Flat Major, Bwv 852 (04:02)
  • 14. Fugue No. 7 In E-Flat Major, Bwv 852 (01:38)
  • 15. Prelude No. 8 In E-Flat/D-Sharp Minor, Bwv 853 (03:37)
  • 16. Fugue No. 8 In E-Flat/D-Sharp Minor, Bwv 853 (04:38)
  • 17. Prelude No. 9 In E Major, Bwv 854 (01:21)
  • 18. Fugue No. 9 In E Major, Bwv 854 (01:08)
  • 19. Prelude No. 10 In E Minor, Bwv 855 (01:40)
  • 20. Fugue No. 10 In E Minor, Bwv 855 (01:00)
  • 21. Prelude No. 11 In F Major, Bwv 856 (00:54)
  • 22. Fugue No. 11 In F Major, Bwv 856 (01:22)
  • 23. Prelude No. 12 In F Minor, Bwv 857 (01:47)
  • 24. Fugue No. 12 In F Minor, Bwv 857 (03:55)

• - 2 -

  • 1. Prelude No. 13 In F-Sharp Major, Bwv 858 (01:27)
  • 2. Fugue No. 13 In F-Sharp Major, Bwv 858 (01:35)
  • 3. Prelude No. 14 In F-Sharp Minor, Bwv 859 (00:51)
  • 4. Fugue No. 14 In F-Sharp Minor, Bwv 859 (02:45)
  • 5. Prelude No. 15 In G Major, Bwv 860 (00:48)
  • 6. Fugue No. 15 In G Major, Bwv 860 (02:42)
  • 7. Prelude No. 16 In G Minor, Bwv 861 (01:37)
  • 8. Fugue No. 16 In G Minor, Bwv 861 (01:52)
  • 9. Prelude No. 17 In A-Flat Major, Bwv 862 (01:10)
  • 10. Fugue No. 17 In A-Flat Major, Bwv 862 (02:22)
  • 11. Prelude No. 18 In G-Sharp Minor, Bwv 863 (01:09)
  • 12. Fugue No. 18 In G-Sharp Minor, Bwv 863 (02:24)
  • 13. Prelude No. 19 In a Major, Bwv 864 (01:03)
  • 14. Fugue No. 19 In a Major, Bwv 864 (01:55)
  • 15. Prelude No. 20 In a Minor, Bwv 865 (01:05)
  • 16. Fugue No. 20 In a Minor, Bwv 865 (04:20)
  • 17. Prelude No. 21 In B-Flat Major, Bwv 866 (01:18)
  • 18. Fugue No. 21 In B-Flat Major, Bwv 866 (01:24)
  • 19. Prelude No. 22 In B-Flat Minor, Bwv 867 (02:47)
  • 20. Fugue No. 22 In B-Flat Minor, Bwv 867 (03:45)
  • 21. Prelude No. 23 In B Major, Bwv 868 (00:54)
  • 22. Fugue No. 23 In B Major, Bwv 868 (01:52)
  • 23. Prelude No. 24 In B Minor, Bwv 869 (05:16)
  • 24. Fugue No. 24 In B Minor, Bwv 869 (07:07)