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Following his recording of the first book of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier released last year (BIS-2621), which was praised as 'a pleasurable benchmark for anyone seeking a traversal that honours every detail of the music' (Gramophone), harpsichordist Masato Suzuki now offers us his interpretation of the second book of Bach's masterly cycle of preludes and fugues. No other works from the baroque period have been as cherished, performed and studied as these collections, the objectives of which were musical, theoretical and didactic. Like the first, the second book of The Well-Tempered Clavier features a prelude and fugue in each of the 12 semitones of the chromatic scale, covering all of the 24 major and minor modes. Produced almost twenty years after the first book, this collection is a sort of follow-up. Though less frequently heard than it's predecessor, it nevertheless contains pieces of great beauty covering a wide stylistic range, and demonstrates a mastery of counterpoint that never outweighs emotion, beauty and aesthetics. Occupying a key position in Bach's output, the second book of the Well-Tempered Clavier points ahead to the major cycles of Bach's last years and presents 'sheer masterpieces from beginning to end', to quote Johann Nikolaus Forkel, the composer's first biographer. Details 1. Wohltemperierte Klavier, Buch II~Praeludium I C-Dur, BWV 870 2. Wohltemperierte Klavier, Buch II~Fuge I C-Dur a 3 voci, BWV 870 3. Wohltemperierte Klavier, Buch II~Praeludium II c-moll, BWV 871 4. Wohltemperierte Klavier, Buch II~Fuge II c-moll a 4 voci, BWV 871 5. Wohltemperierte Klavier, Buch II~Praeludium III Cis-Dur, BWV 872 6. Wohltemperierte Klavier, Buch II~Fuge III Cis-Dur a 3 voci, BWV 872 7. Wohltemperierte Klavier, Buch II~Praeludium IV cis-moll, BWV 873 8. Wohltemperierte Klavier, Buch II~Fuge IV cis-moll a 3 voci, BWV 873 9. Wohltemperier
