Keyboard Works (box set) Main Performer or Conductor: Blandine Verlet Instrumentation: Harpsichord Individual Works: CD 1: Goldberg Variations BWV 988 CD 2: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude and Fugue BWV 846 Prelude and Fugue BWV 847 Prelude and Fugue BWV 848 Prelude and Fugue BWV 849 Prelude and Fugue BWV 850 Prelude and Fugue BWV 851 Prelude and Fugue BWV 852 Prelude and Fugue BWV 853 Prelude and Fugue BWV 854 Prelude and Fugue BWV 855 Prelude and Fugue BWV 856 Prelude and Fugue BWV 857 CD 3: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude and Fugue BWV 858 Prelude and Fugue BWV 859 Prelude and Fugue BWV 860 Prelude and Fugue BWV 861 Prelude and Fugue BWV 862 Prelude and Fugue BWV 863 Prelude and Fugue BWV 864 Prelude and Fugue BWV 865 Prelude and Fugue BWV 866 Prelude and Fugue BWV 867 Prelude and Fugue BWV 868 Prelude and Fugue BWV 869 CD 4: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2: Prelude and Fugue BWV 870 Prelude and Fugue BWV 871 Prelude and Fugue BWV 872 Prelude and Fugue BWV 873 Prelude and Fugue BWV 874 Prelude and Fugue BWV 875 Prelude and Fugue BWV 876 Prelude and Fugue BWV 877 Prelude and Fugue BWV 878 Prelude and Fugue BWV 879 Prelude and Fugue BWV 880 Prelude and Fugue BWV 881 CD 5: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2: Prelude and Fugue BWV 882 Prelude and Fugue BWV 883 Prelude and Fugue BWV 884 Prelude and Fugue BWV 885 Prelude and Fugue BWV 886 Prelude and Fugue BWV 887 Prelude and Fugue BWV 888 Prelude and Fugue BWV 889 Prelude and Fugue BWV 890 Prelude and Fugue BWV 891 Prelude and Fugue BWV 892 Prelude and Fugue BWV 893 CD 6: Prelude in A minor BWV 922 Toccata in E minor BWV 914 Chromatic Fantasie and Fugue in A minor BWV 903 Prelude and Fugue a-moll BWV 894 Toccata in D minor BWV 913 Fantasie and Fugue in A minor BWV 904 Toccata in D major BWV 912 Format: Compact Disc Record Label: Astree Catalog Number: E 8118 Year Released/Recorded: 2000 Total Playing Time: cd 1: 80'30 cd 2: 52'29 cd 3: 55'28 cd 4: 59'37 cd 5: 65'55 cd 6: 67'05 Comments: Jan Hanford said: I was very excited to find this 6-cd box set of these works because I like having a lot of Bach keyboard works altogether in one box. This was my introduction to Blandine Verlet, who I had not heard before. It's a wonderful collection. Her Aria from the Goldberg Variations is a bit fast but I still found it enjoyable. She does use somewhat unusual tunings, but it is not at all like her awful recording of the Partitas for Keyboard. The sound of the 1751 harpsichord is excellent. Her Well-Tempered Clavier is delicate and intimate. The recorded sound is very close, using an historic instrument from 1624. Wonderful phrasing and lovely articulation. An outstanding performance of Bach's most amazing keyboard works. Disc 6 contains a selection of miscellaneous works. But the bizarre temperament she uses for this recording is particularly unpleasant so it's hard to get excited about it. You sort of get used to it, until she ends a phrase on a note that just sounds out of tune. Some passages are so out of tune it's almost funny, except that it's considered "authentic" which perhaps really is funny after all. Toccata BWV 913 is unlistenable, or comical, or authentic, depending on your personal preference. The box is worth it just for her Well-Tempered Clavier 1 and 2 which is extraordinary. Acknowledgements: From the collection of Jan Hanford. Date First Submitted: 05/02/2002 Purchasing: Suggested Purchasing Sources Note: Inclusion in this database does not guarantee the availability of any recording. Some recordings may be out-of-print or no longer available.