Instrumental

What Schumann memorably dubbed ‘the work of all works’ has long attracted harpsichordists and pianists in equal measure. Though Bach himself could have barely envisaged the Steinway piano of today – the chosen instrument for this recording – it seems unlikely, from all that we know of his active interest in the evolution of keyboard instruments, that he would have considered it unsuitable for the ‘48’.

George Lepauw provides the listener with a thoughtful if at times idiosyncratic survey of these preludes and fugues; and who of us can but applaud the sentiments expressed in his accompanying essay that the recording ‘was born out of my desire to become a more complete musician, and a better human being.’ Lepauw’s journey through these wonderful pieces is contemplative, commendably articulate and enhanced by unfailing linear clarity. His use of the sustaining pedal is judicious, and his carefully controlled rhythmic elasticity emphasises the romance of Bach’s music.

Inevitably, listeners will encounter their own highs and lows. The playful, virtuosic C sharp major Prelude (Book I) lacks the singing, at times almost puckish character of Edwin Fischer, while the E flat minor Fugue (Book I), affectingly used in Ingmar Bergman’s film , as well as