Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier I+II (Scott Ross)

Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier I+II (Scott Ross)

Eac / flac (img + cue) / log.
Recovery : 3%.
Total rar size : CDs / Covers / Booklet : 699 MB /4 parts.
Total playing-time : 48'.42'', 53'.05" .
Included : Covers, Booklet, CD in 300 dpi.

Eac / flac (img + cue) / log.

Recovery : 3%.
Total rar size : CDs / Covers / Booklet : 900 MB /5 parts.
Total playing-time : 60'.14", 68'.06'' .
Included : Covers, Booklet, CD in 300 dpi.

Johann Sebastian Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier Book I+II (Scott Ross, 1980)

Comments on jsbach.org

Robert Jorgensen said:

I have to admit to being a great fan of Scott Ross, so I am thrilled these old Radio Canada recordings have been issued on CD. They have all the vitality of other performances by him which makes Moroney, my previous 48 front runner, seem relatively pedestrian.

Jan Hanford said:

Scott Ross has been one of my favorite harpsichordists for a long time and I was excited to find these amazing performances of the Well-Tempered Clavier. His clarity and articulation of the voices is extraordinary. Hastily recorded, it is fairly "raw" sounding, with some tuning problems in the harpsichord. But Ross' performance still makes it very enjoyable.

Max Schmeder said:

Extremely vital performances, yet quite undifferentiated and uniformly brisk. I suspect that Ross was practically sight-reading half the set, but this is its unique strength. He captures what a musician fleetingly experiences while still in the flush of a new musical encounter, a quality that quickly disappears forever. Ross's freshness and tactus is unbelievable in places: The C-major prelude (bk II) reveals its unfathomable ontological profundity. Bach's insight must be felt to be understood, and you can probably forget about anyone else other than Ross conveying it.

These recordings should be re-released!

And a partial contrary review BBC Music Magazine:

Fixed pitch instruments such as keyboards have in-built tuning problems: either some keys are pure while others are jarringly dissonant or, a compromise, all keys are equally nearly in tune. ‘Well-Tempered’ has usually been assumed to imply this ‘equally tempered’ solution, though historical evidence and the music itself suggest Bach may have intended a temperament imbuing different keys with distinctive characters while all remain tolerable to the ear. You will not find the answer in the arcane notes here (including: ‘Bach’s taste is not anecdotal (although it figures in the quotient, but should never be radicalized)’ – sic!). They hint however at another solution feasible when recording – to adjust tunings to suite your current key. Perhaps this is what Ross attempted in this recording, nearly 20 years ago, but sadly the result is not a rainbow of temperaments but plain ill-tuned unisons and octaves. Among the most audible examples are in E major (Book 1), and the gaunt subject of the F sharp minor fugue (Book 2). The sound is marred too by a thunderous rumble of key action, particularly where manuals are coupled – among the worst the fugues in C major and C sharp minor (Bk 2) . Yet Scott has much to offer: lively tempi shave an astonishing 42 minutes off Moroney’s pensive approach; he handles with exemplary clarity the contrapuntal complexities of the E flat fugue (Bk 1); stylishly lilting inégales triplets characterise the D major prelude (Bk 2), and he finds an ingenious solution to the uneven note-values of the E minor fugue (Bk 2). George Pratt

All credits go to 'Zoodochos'

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