The Well-Tempered Clavier

SAT 23 – SUN 24 JAN 2021

Resignation and incarceration! In 1717, when Bach tried to break his contract in Weimar, his employer the Duke was furious. He had Bach locked up for a month for his impolite behaviour. With just a pen and paper and his thoughts as a company, Bach put his time there to good use: he started to compose a cycle of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys. In the preludes Bach gave his fantasy free rein; in the fugues he employed mathematical tours de force. In around 1740 he repeated this feat, once again using a mix of new and existing material. Together these two Well-Tempered Clavier collections would change music history forever.