Скачать или смотреть Julian Perkins – prelude and fugue by J. S. Bach – Hatchlands Park

Prelude and Fugue no. 12 in F minor, BWV 881 by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
from ‘‘Das wohltemperierte Klavier’’, Book II (c1742)

Performed by Julian Perkins at Hatchlands Park in Surrey, England.

The clavichord was reputedly J. S. Bach’s favourite keyboard instrument. Small wonder, given that its intimate tones compel the player to cultivate a singing tone through an assured touch. That said, it is also capable of sounding assertive – as heard here in the fugue subject’s opening decoration. Donald Francis Tovey even compares this decoration to ‘a Highlander’s whoop’!

This clavichord forms part of The Cobbe Collection and was made by the Saxon builder Christian Gotthelf Hoffmann in 1784. The solid oak case belies an instrument that can sound exquisitely tender. It has a five-octave compass from FF to f3 and is unfretted (i.e. each note has its own pair of strings).

Recorded 18 January 2017

► Julian Perkins: http://www.julianperkins.com