Michael Houstoun in recital at the University of Auckland Music Theatre performs the Preludes and Fugues Nos 13-24 of Book I of The Well-Tempered Clavier by Bach
As Michael Houstoun has explained, preparing to play the 48 preludes and 48 fugues involves a very deep delving into the essential character of each one. This has led him to giving them all short descriptions - or 'pseudo-titles', as he calls them. He offers these as a possible spur to a listener's imagination but stresses that they need not be taken as definitive or even too seriously. With his kind permission, we give them here.
Book One
F sharp major
Prelude: Playing around
Fugue: Sing
F sharp minor
Prelude: Treadmill
Fugue: Uphill
G major
Prelude: Fresh air
Fugue: Robust dance
G minor
Prelude: Wistful
Fugue: Stern advice
A flat major
Prelude: Domestic dance
Fugue: Nobility of the Quotidian
G sharp minor
Prelude: Failed aspiration
Fugue: Grim tale
A major
Prelude: Ambivalence
Fugue: Dancing on the head of a pin
A minor
Prelude: Thickening the plot
Fugue: Implacable
B flat major
Prelude: The lark ascending and descending
Fugue: Citation
B flat minor
Prelude: Road to Golgotha
Fugue: Bottomless pit
B major
Prelude: Above the clouds
Fugue: Embracing
B minor
Prelude and Fugue: The Passion according to J.S.Bach
Recorded by RNZ Concert in the University of Auckland Music Theatre, May 2017
Producer/Engineer: Tim Dodd
