The Cantata Trail

A listening journey through Bach's cantatas

The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II

Preludes and Fugues
No. 1 in C major, BWV 870
No. 2 in C minor, BWV 871

The second “Well-Tempered Clavier” collection dates from quite late in Bach’s life – around 1740.   Like its predecessor, Book I from 1722, it contains one prelude and fugue in each of the major and minor keys, for a total of 24 sets.  There are two versions of Book II, the second of which is considered the most authoritative one.  It was primarily transcribed by Johann Christoph Altnickol (Bach’s son-in-law) and it includes corrections by Bach himself.

The first book had a title page indicating the purpose of the collection – for students and proficient players of keyboard instruments.  However the second book lacks a similar front page, which allows the scholars to group it with other works of Bach’s late years like the Art of the Fugue and the Goldberg Variations, regarded by Bach as a musical testament or legacy.  This notion is reinforced by the fact that the preludes and fugues of the second book tend to be more complex and elaborate than those of the first one.

The issue of tuning is still hotly debated by scholars today.   The fundamental question of whether Bach meant for a single tuning system to be used to play all 24 pieces is still unanswered, let alone what tuning system that would be.  Some researchers are even trying to derive a tuning system from the pattern of loops that Bach drew on the title page of Book I – so far without much success.

Let’s start our journey through this piece of Bach’s legacy today with the first 2 sets: C major (BWV 870) and C minor (BWV 871). Christine Schornsheim plays a gorgeous 1624 original harpsichord built by Johannes Rucker, pictured below.

Cover page of the Well-Tempered Clavier Book II

Christine Schornsheim, harpsichord