Well-Tempered Clavier

The Well-Tempered Clavier (Das wohltemperierte Clavier, "Clavier" meaning keyboard instrument) is a collection of solo keyboard music composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. He first gave the title to a book of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys, appearing in 1722, composed "for the profit and use of musical youth desirous of learning, and especially for the pastime of those already skilled in this study". Bach later compiled a second book of the same kind, appearing in 1744, but entitled it only "Twenty-four Preludes and Fugues". The two are now usually referred to as "WTC Book I" and "Book II". In the German of Bach's time the "Clavier" was a generic name meaning "keyboard instrument," most typically the harpsichord or clavichord--but not excluding the organ, either. Bach's Clavier compositions are now usually played on the harpsichord or piano.

Related Topics:
Clavier - Keyboard - Johann Sebastian Bach - Prelude - Fugue - Key - 1722 - 1744 - Harpsichord - Clavichord - Organ - Piano

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