One small step in the completion of the WTC. Why is it that this music seems harder the better you can do it ? Damn frustrating.

Bach - BWV 864 - Das Wolhtemperierte Clavier I - Prelude and Fugue No.19 in A major (3:35)

Chirs, this is admirable playing, especially in the context of all that you've done. I tip my hat to you. Merry Christmas.

Thank you Eddy. I've been practicing this pair (and 3 more to follow soon) so long and diligently that I'm almost fed up with them. It will be time to move on. This fugue is not perfect alas, there are a couple is missed notes in the LH runs.

I had a listen to this pair. I enjoyed hearing them The fugue does sound quite challenging particularly the stretto sections where the music sounds more and more dense. I think at 3:27 in the LH run is the note(s) you missed? It didn't take away from the performance, I think to play the fugue at the speed you did is pretty incredible, some of the runs remind me of the one piece I could never seem to nail , Hasche Mann by Schumann of Kindereszen. Bach's WTC is quite a taskmaster, maybe this is why so few pianists chose to tackle the entire book or book(s) as it were. Good luck as you continue your quest to finish the WTC I

Thanks, I'll need that
I think there are 2 or even 3 missed notes, but I dare not listen back for fear of being disappointed. These LH runs are very tricky indeed, it seems sometimes impossible to get a comfortable fingering.

I've played these and no, they don't sit very well under the hand. I found the Prelude to be more difficult than the Fugue actually, in terms of creating a workable fingering.

These recordings aren't flawless but they are very good, and in fact my favorite moment was one with a few technical issues -- that passage that starts in B minor with all the 16ths and circles back around toward the theme in A major -- it had a wonderful exciting energy and spirit, even if it may have been partially due to frustration!

By "completion of the WTC" do you mean that you are trying to create a complete recording of the WTC on pianosociety?

Thank you Heather. I was not quite frustrated with these but they sure took a long time to practice and set down, and it was time to leave well enough alone and move on. I work hard to achieve perfection but the last ounce often eludes me.
I actually had a complete WTC on this site and was at the time very proud of it. In hindsight, they were pretty awful in every respect so I started anew. Only 4 more pairs from each book to go now. I fear I'll be once again dissatisfied with this cycle, and may have to start all over yet again.....

Hi Chris,

Your's is an impressive rendition of this P & F. The prelude seems nearly as complicated as the fugue. It has three voices, thus triple counterpoint. Leave it to Bach. I can see why it takes considerable time to get these up to your standard. I enjoyed listening. Fine playing!

David

Thanks David ! They're not as clean as I'd wanted them to be, but nor bad either.

Very enjoyable, Chris.
I must have missed these when they were posted around Christmas. I decided to forego following by score (hate to admit I don't know where my WTC is) and just take a tone-bath.

Thanks Stu. Lost your WTC ... ??? Barbarian

Hi Chris, I enjoyed your recording! I don't know this pair well, but thought just from listening 'How complicated it sounds!'
Seeing you being slightly disappointed reminds me of my playing the Bach-Rachmaninoff Violin Partita, which I practiced so long time and ended in unclean recordings (you know that I don't have much experience with hard polyphony pieces ).

To the prelude:
nice flow, for my taste a bit too hectical here and there (f.ex. in bar 14). Some voicing of the theme would be nice, f.ex. in the bass in bar 17. Apart from this a nice recording, seems flawless to me, but I haven´t looked for that too exactly.

To the fugue:
I´m missing some voicing here. The runs in bar 26 and 30 are too "swimmy" because of some too much pedal here and there. From bar 26 the runs become also a bit too hectical, they sound a bit "interrupted" respective uneven, may be the reason for that is the articulation. (You often take two notes in a bow). In bar 36 the e in the bass at the end is missing. In bar 41 the f sharp in the tenor is missing. In bar 48 the f sharp in the bass is missing. In bar 50 the f sharp in the bass is missing. (Seems you don´t like the f sharp in that piece here! But may be there still is hope, that you´ll accept it. ) In bar 53 it´s (exceptionally ) the d, which is missing.

Apart from these things a nice recording!

Thanks Andreas. I already acknowledged there are some missing notes on the fugue, those LH runs are just so damn hard at the speed I choose to take. I know, not an excuse....

Hi Chris,
not an excuse, may be, but reverse you could reduce the tempo (at least for practising and also for the end version). At a slower tempo the prelude would sound better IMHO and also the fugue can carry a slower tempo (though I have to admit it´s a blight and joyful one, which sounds good in a faster tempo). I don´t remember the tempo I have choosen then for my recording, but I think I will relisten to it.
I would encourage you to do a re-recording, at least of the fugue.