Bach - WTC II Prelude and fugue no. 21 in B-flat major BWV 890 | Netherlands Bach Society

In the second Wohltemperirte Clavier, Bach readily embraced the modern sonata form, in his own way, and this extensive 21st prelude is an interesting illustration of that. The theme – at the time as widely known as a jazz standard today – is used in every conceivable way. After the lengthy prelude, the fugue remains surprisingly brief, and Bach loses no time in dragging us into the action. Because the parts change places, as it were, new and harmonically exciting combinations continue to emerge naturally. Twenty years after his first collection of music in every key imaginable, Bach completed a second ’Wohltemperirte Clavier’. We recorded his first book of Preludes and Fugues at the homes of 24 different musicians. For this second part, performed in its entirety by Christine Schornsheim, we chose 12 very different locations in Utrecht, to celebrate the 900th anniversary of our home city. Recorded for the project All of Bach on on 24 September 2022 at Acanthus Antiquariaat, Utrecht, the N