What are you listening to? (Vol VII)

~<>~ Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) ~<>~

The Well-Tempered Clavier ~ book 1, BWV 846-869

CD.1  [61'31]  Preludes & Fugues I - XII

CD.2  [63'53] Preludes & Fugues XIII - XXIV 

Richard Egarr harpsichord

(Joel Katzmann, Amsterdam, 1991, after Ruckers, Antwerp, 1638)

harmonia mundi 2 x CD (p) 2007


~<>~

My first listen to this was a few days ago, when i found little to enjoy with it, and blaming myself for being in an otherwise kind of mood i put this 2 cd set by for this week-end.

So now, during my second listen:

The fairly recent copy of a 1638 cembalo has the life-force sucked out by the over-bright recording room so is distant and jingly. The left hand work lacks transparency and technical parts get mushed while the right hand is plodding along playing for a chore it has (to me) an odd sense of timing with the left. The whole thing lacks a good involving sense of rhythm so is dull, cold and unemotional.
For some reason I expected much better of Richard Egarr on this intersting and traditional instrument : (

Glad I didn’t pay the full price for it!

Debs