J.S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) (Remastered) Keith Jarrett

• Johann Sebastian Bach: 1685 - 1750): The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869:
• 1 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 1. Prelude in C Major, BWV 846 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 02:03
• 2 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 2. Fugue in C Major, BWV 846 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:49
• 3 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 1. Prelude in C Minor, BWV 847 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:53
• 4 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 2. Fugue in C Minor, BWV 847 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:32
• 5 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 1. Prelude in C-Sharp Major, BWV 848 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:17
• 6 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 2. Fugue in C-Sharp Major, BWV 848 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 02:08
• 7 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 1. Prelude in C-Sharp Minor, BWV 849 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 02:19
• 8 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 2. Fugue in C-Sharp Minor, BWV 849 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 04:03
• 9 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 1. Prelude in D Major, BWV 850 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:12
• 10 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 2. Fugue in D Major, BWV 850 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:33
• 11 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 1. Prelude in D Minor, BWV 851 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:43
• 12 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 2. Fugue in D Minor, BWV 851 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:58
• 13 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 1. Prelude in E-Flat Major, BWV 852 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 04:02
• 14 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 2. Fugue in E-Flat Major, BWV 852 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:38
• 15 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 1. Prelude in D-Sharp Minor/E-Flat Minor, BWV 853 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 03:37
• 16 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 2. Fugue in D-Sharp Minor/E-Flat Minor, BWV 853 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 04:38
• 17 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 1. Prelude in E Major, BWV 854 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:21
• 18 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 2. Fugue in E Major, BWV 854 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:08
• 19 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 1. Prelude in E Minor, BWV 855 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:40
• 20 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 2. Fugue in E Minor, BWV 855 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:00
• 21 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 1. Prelude in F Major, BWV 856 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 00:54
• 22 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 2. Fugue in F Major, BWV 856 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:22
• 23 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 1. Prelude in F Minor, BWV 857 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:47
• 24 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 2. Fugue in F Minor, BWV 857 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 03:55
• 25 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 1. Prelude in F-Sharp Major, BWV 858 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:27
• 26 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 2. Fugue in F-Sharp Major, BWV 858 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:35
• 27 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 1. Prelude in F-Sharp Minor, BWV 859 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 00:51
• 28 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 2. Fugue in F-Sharp Minor, BWV 859 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 02:45
• 29 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 1. Prelude in G Major, BWV 860 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 00:48
• 30 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 2. Fugue in G Major, BWV 860 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 02:42
• 31 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 1. Prelude in G Minor, BWV 861 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:37
• 32 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 2. Fugue in G Minor, BWV 861 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:52
• 33 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 1. Prelude in A-Flat Major, BWV 862 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:10
• 34 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 2. Fugue in A-Flat Major, BWV 862 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 02:22
• 35 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 1. Prelude in A-Flat Minor/G-Sharp Minor, BWV 863 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:09
• 36 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 2. Fugue in A-Flat Minor/G-Sharp Minor, BWV 863 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 02:24
• 37 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 1. Prelude in A Major, BWV 864 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:03
• 38 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 2. Fugue in A Major, BWV 864 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:55
• 39 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 1. Prelude in A Minor, BWV 865 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:05
• 40 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 2. Fugue in A Minor, BWV 865 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 04:20
• 41 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 1. Prelude in B-Flat Major, BWV 866 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:18
• 42 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 2. Fugue in B-Flat Major, BWV 866 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:24
• 43 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 1. Prelude in B-Flat Minor, BWV 867 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 02:47
• 44 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 2. Fugue in B-Flat Minor, BWV 867 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 03:45
• 45 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 1. Prelude in B Major, BWV 868 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 00:54
• 46 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 2. Fugue in B Major, BWV 868 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 01:52
• 47 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 1. Prelude in B Minor, BWV 869 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 05:16
• 48 The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 2. Fugue in B Minor, BWV 869 (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) 07:07
• Total Runtime 01:44:00

Info for J.S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) (Remastered)

“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.“

In February 1987, Keith Jarrett recorded, on piano, the first book of The Well-Tempered Clavier by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was the first in a series of lauded Bach discs that Jarrett would make for ECM. On March 7, 1987, prior to the release of the studio set, he performed the complete WTC Book I for an audience in upstate New York at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, a venue renowned for its beautiful acoustics. With this release, ECM is presenting an archival live recording of this concert for the first time. When his studio album of the WTC Book I was released, Jarrett’s manner in these iconic preludes and fugues surprised many listeners with its poetic restraint, given his renown as a jazz improvisor. But the pianist was deeply attuned to what he called “the process of thought” in Bach; by not imposing his personality unduly on the music, Jarrett allowed the score to shine via the natural lyricism of the contrapuntal melodic lines, the dance-like pulse of the rhythmic flow. These qualities are strikingly apparent in the live recording, with its added electricity of a concert performance.

Jarrett has explored the classical repertoire for ECM New Series with a depth and breadth that few jazz artists have ever attempted. He has surveyed much other solo keyboard music by Bach, including the WTC Book II, Goldberg Variations and French Suites, all on harpsichord. He also recorded, on harpsichord, Bach chamber pieces with violist Kim Kashkashian and, on piano, Bach sonatas with violinist Michelle Makarski. In league with violinist Gidon Kremer, Jarrett recorded the reference version of Arvo Pärt’s Fratres, which appeared on the disc Tabula Rasa, the very first ECM New Series release, in 1984. The pianist also recorded two volumes of concertos by Mozart, as well as concertos by Bela Bartók and Samuel Barber. On solo piano, Jarrett has ranged, to great acclaim, from Handel’s keyboard suites to Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes & Fugues, Op. 87. Reviewing Jarrett’s 1992 Shostakovich set, The New York Times declared: “Even in our multicultural, multistylistic age, it is still extremely difficult to cross over from one field to another. Mr. Jarrett, having long since established himself in jazz, can now be called a classical pianist of the first rank.”

J.S. Bach composed The Well-Tempered Clavier (BWV 846-893) as a collection of two books of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys, the music as sublimely expressive as it is acutely instructive. He compiled Book I in 1722, at age 37, while working in Köthen, Germany (with Book II completed two decades later, in Leipzig); the WTC wasn’t published until 1801, nearly a half-century after Bach’s death. Down through the ages, this music has been a signal influence on composers from Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin to Brahms, Shostakovich and beyond.

Gramophone magazine, reviewing Jarrett’s studio recording of the WTC Book I, said: “These are performances in which tempos, phrasing, articulation and the execution of ornaments are convincing. Both instrument and performer serve as unobtrusive media through which the music emerges without enhancement.”

Discussing Bach in the booklet essay for that studio recording, Jarrett said this about his subtle approach to the composer’s music: “This music does not need my assistance. The melodic lines themselves are expressive to me… The very direction of the lines, the moving lines of notes are inherently expressive.” In a 1994 interview with Fanfare magazine, Jarrett linked his playing of Bach with his background as an improviser in one key aspect: “When you’re an improviser, there’s a certain shimmer to the motion of things. It’s a dance.”

Keith Jarrett, piano

Keith Jarrett
At the end of 2008, Keith Jarrett added two concerts to his schedule at short notice – one at Paris’s Salle Pleyel (November 26), one at London’s Royal Festival Hall (December 1) . The music on “Testament” is from these concerts. Their range is compendious, Jarrett’s improvisational imagination continually uncovering new forms, in a music stirred by powerful emotions. In his liner notes, the pianist is forthright about the personal circumstances promoting a need to lose himself in the work once more.

He also reminds the reader/listener that “it is not natural to sit at a piano, bring no material, clear your mind completely of musical ideas and play something that is of lasting value and brand new.” This, however, has been the history and substance of the solo concerts since Jarrett initiated them, almost forty years ago . Over time their connection to ‘jazz’ has often become tenuous, yet Jarrett’s solo concerts, with the foregrounding of melody and the continual building, and relinquishing, of structure, are also removed from “free improvisation” as a genre. Jarrett’s solo work is effectively its own idiom, and has been subject to periodic revisions by the pianist. “In the early part of this decade, I tried to bring the format back: starting from nothing and building a universe.”

Since the “Radiance” album and the “Tokyo Solo” DVD of 2002 Jarrett has been adjusting the flow of the work, more often working with shorter blocks of material. “I continued to find a wealth of music inside this open format, stopping whenever the music told me to.” This approach distinguished “The Carnegie Hall Concert” (2006), and it is most effectively deployed in “Testament” , where the strongly-contrasting elements of the sections of the Paris concert in particular have the logic of a spontaneously-composed suite. The nerves-bared London performance (the first UK solo show in 18 years) is different again: “The concert went on and, though the beginning was a dark, searching, multi-tonal melodic triumph, by the end it somehow became a throbbing, never-to-be-repeated pulsing rock band of a concert (unless it was a church service, in which case, Hallelujah!).”

In the end, the improviser does what must be done. As Keith Jarrett said, a long time ago, “If you’re a rock climber, once you’re halfway up the face of the cliff, you have to keep moving, you have to keep going somewhere. And that’s what I do, I find a way.”

These days, however, Jarrett is rationing the number of ascents: there have been less than thirty solo concerts in the last decade, making “Testament” a special event indeed. Two further solo performances are scheduled for 2009 – at the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels on October 9, and at Berlin’s Philharmonie on October 12.

Booklet for J.S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I (Live in Troy, NY / 1987) (Remastered)