Pierre-Laurent Aimard – J.S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I (2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:52:31 minutes | 1,79 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Deutsche Grammophon (DG)
[a] brilliant pianist — one of those daunting Frenchmen clearly born with three brains . . . the C major prelude starts us off, the notes light and limpid, the graceful pace ebbing when Bach’s harmonies veer from the straight and narrow . . . Aimard has clearly thought deeply about the collections’s kaleidoscopic structure . . . The F sharp minor fugue is a mysterious wonder, as if the music were feeling its way in the dark; the G major prelude sparkles with gaiety . . . –Geoff Brown, The Times
[Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier] represents the absolute pinnacle of keyboard writing . . . there’s something hugely satisfying about the complete set . . . Pierre-Laurent Aimard’s intelligent, tasteful account of Book One has certainly done a lot to convince me further . . . It’s an austere, almost self-effacing performance in which Aimard is ensuring that Bach is the real star. It’s also relatively low on overt emotion and rubato — though by no means mechanical or dead . . . Although the instrument is one of course Bach would never have seen, one gets the impression that this is still Bach played like Bach, so to speak — and that the great master wouldn’t object to the innovation if he heard Aimard’s playing . . . he manages to capture on the piano the spirit of a work designed to showcase the harpsichord. If you think you don’t like Bach on the piano, I think Aimard may just convert you — and if you don’t have a recording of the Well-Tempered Clavier yet then I can heartily recommend this one as a starting-point for getting to know these beautiful miniatures better. –David Smith, Presto Classical
Pierre-Laurent Aimard is such a distinguished musician . . . the finish in his account of Book 1 is near immaculate . . . Clarity of texture and of part-playing are the virtues which predominate, plus a cool atmosphere . . . –Stephen Plaistow, Gramophone
His first Deutsche Grammophon recording was the “Art of Fugue”, and he again displays his penchant for the didactic with the first book of the “Well-Tempered Clavier”. His Bach is resolutely head-driven — and it’s curious. His pre-eminently ascetic use of the sustaining pedal creates clarity tinged with dryness, yet he’s prone to Romantically portentous rallentandos . . . [the A major fugue] is fashioned with impish eccentricity, its ‘French’ D major companion is seized upon with zeal, and the E major Fugue is bright and exhilarating. –Paul Riley, BBC Music Magazine
a sinewy contrapuntal approach that emphasizes the little dissonances that are so much a part of the experience of playing Bach or listening to him closely . . . Aimard is aided by fine studio sound from Deutsche Grammophon that captures all the shades of what he is doing. –James Manheim, AllMusic
Aimard’s reserved yet relaxed C-sharp minor Prelude leads into a fluid, thoughtfully organized five-voice fugue. Aimard’s detached bass notes in the D minor Prelude generate welcome tension and release, as do his ever-so-slight accelerations, in contrast to the prosaic fugue . . . Aimard’s intelligent dynamic gradations and rapturous tonal shadings in the E-flat minor Prelude continue to reveal new details after many rehearings . . . The bite of the A-flat major Prelude’s arpeggiated chords and light, dry-point articulation reveal a previously unsuspected kinship to the E major Violin Partita’s Preludio. I like Aimard’s cross-rhythmic phrasing in his upbeat A major Fugue . . . –Jed Distler, ClassicsToday
Tracklist:
01. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 846 in C major – Praeludium I (02:17)
02. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 846 in C major – Fuga I (02:10)
03. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 847 in C minor – Praeludium II (01:29)
04. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 847 in C minor – Fuga II (01:46)
05. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 848 in C sharp major – Praeludium III (01:17)
06. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 848 in C sharp major – Fuga III (02:30)
07. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 5 voci) BWV 849 in C sharp minor – Praeludium IV (03:12)
08. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 5 voci) BWV 849 in C sharp minor – Fuga IV (03:50)
09. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 850 in D major – Praeludium V (01:12)
10. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 850 in D major – Fuga V (01:53)
11. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 851 in D minor – Praeludium VI (01:30)
12. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 851 in D minor – Fuga VI (02:04)
13. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 852 in E flat major – Praeludium VII (03:23)
14. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 852 in E flat major – Fuga VII (01:50)
15. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 853 in E flat minor – Praeludium VIII (03:52)
16. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 853 in E flat minor – Fuga VIII (05:37)
17. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 854 in E major – Praeludium IX (01:18)
18. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 854 in E major – Fuga IX (01:08)
19. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 2 voci) BWV 855 in E minor – Praeludium X (02:28)
20. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 2 voci) BWV 855 in E minor – Fuga X (01:33)
21. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 856 in F major – Praeludium XI (01:04)
22. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 856 in F major – Fuga XI (01:07)
23. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 857 in F minor – Praeludium XII (02:16)
24. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 857 in F minor – Fuga XII (04:22)
25. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 858 in F sharp major – Praeludium XIII (01:33)
26. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 858 in F sharp major – Fuga XIII (01:50)
27. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 859 in F sharp minor – Praeludium XIV (01:17)
28. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 859 in F sharp minor – Fuga XIV (03:42)
29. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 860 in G major – Praeludium XV (00:54)
30. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 860 in G major – Fuga XV (02:31)
31. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 861 in G minor – Praeludium XVI (02:12)
32. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 861 in G minor – Fuga XVI (01:41)
33. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 862 in A flat major – Praeludium XVII (01:10)
34. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 862 in A flat major – Fuga XVII (01:58)
35. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 863 in G sharp minor – Praeludium XVIII (01:18)
36. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 863 in G sharp minor – Fuga XVIII (02:34)
37. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 864 in A major – Praeludium XIX (01:14)
38. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 864 in A major – Fuga XIX (02:04)
39. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 865 in A minor – Praeludium XX (01:02)
40. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 865 in A minor – Fuga XX (05:09)
41. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 866 in B flat major – Praeludium XXI (01:22)
42. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 3 voci) BWV 866 in B flat major – Fuga XXI (01:31)
43. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 5 voci) BWV 867 in B flat minor – Praeludium XXII (02:20)
44. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 5 voci) BWV 867 in B flat minor – Fuga XXII (03:30)
45. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 868 in B major – Praeludium XXIII (01:10)
46. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 868 in B major – Fuga XXIII (02:07)
47. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 869 in B minor – Praeludium XXIV (05:50)
48. Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Praeludium & Fuga (a 4 voci) BWV 869 in B minor – Fuga XXIV (06:58)
