Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1 | Nicola Lamon

Nicola Lamon performs Book 1 of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Das wohltemperirte Klavier on harpsichord: twenty-four Preludes and Fugues, BWV 846–869.

Formats and editions

• CD — CVLD334CD
• Hi-Res WAV file 88.2kHz · 24bit — CVLD334

Musicians

Nicola Lamon — harpsichord

Silbermann harpsichord built by Romain Legros (Verona, Italy).

Recording and production

Original 88.2 kHz · 24-bit recording in the main hall of Villa Masiero e Centanin, Arquà Petrarca, Italy, on 12, 13 and 14 February 2021.

Production: Velut Luna
Executive producer: Marco Lincetto
Musical production and editing: Mattia Zanatta
Recording, mix and mastering: Marco Lincetto
Design and layout: L’Image
Critical text: Myriam Gugliemo

Track listing

CD1
01 - No. 01: Prelude and Fugue in C major, BWV 846  - 4'23"
02 - No. 02: Prelude and Fugue in C minor, BWV 847  - 5'06" 
03 - No. 03: Prelude and Fugue in C sharp major, BWV 848  - 5'43"
04 - No. 04: Prelude and Fugue in C sharp minor, BWV 849  - 7'15"
05 - No. 05: Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 850  - 4'11"
06 - No. 06: Prelude and Fugue in D minor, BWV 851  - 4'44"
07 - No. 07: Prelude and Fugue in E flat major, BWV 852  - 7'08"
08 - No. 08: Prelude in E flat minor and Fugue in D sharp minor, BWV 853  - 9'04"
09 - No. 09: Prelude and Fugue in E major, BWV 854  - 3'18"
10 - No. 10: Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 855  - 4'18"
11 - No. 11: Prelude and Fugue in F major, BWV 856  - 2'59"
12 - No. 12: Prelude and Fugue in F minor, BWV 857  - 6'56"

Tot. Time: 66'13"

CD2
01 - No. 13: Prelude and Fugue in F sharp major, BWV 858  - 3'53"
02 - No. 14: Prelude and Fugue in F sharp minor, BWV 859  - 4'38"
03 - No. 15: Prelude and Fugue in G major, BWV 860  - 4'40"
04 - No. 16: Prelude and Fugue in G minor, BWV 861  - 4'26"
05 - No. 17: Prelude and Fugue in A flat major, BWV 862  - 4'25"
06 - No. 18: Prelude and Fugue in G sharp minor, BWV 863  - 4'54"
07 - No. 19: Prelude and Fugue in A major, BWV 864  - 4'53"
08 - No. 20: Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 865  - 7'49"
09 - No. 21: Prelude and Fugue in B flat major, BWV 866  - 3'40"
10 - No. 22: Prelude and Fugue in B flat minor, BWV 867  - 5'23"
11 - No. 23: Prelude and Fugue in B major, BWV 868  - 3'59"
12 - No. 24: Prelude and Fugue in B minor, BWV 869  - 12'12"

Tot. Time: 64'58"

Critical notes

With the composition of the 24 Preludes and Fugues (BWV 846-869), Bach participates in the vexata quaestio surrounding "temperament" and engages in a dialogue that, starting from the Renaissance, reaches, with no less intense echoes, 20th-century variations regarding the rational division of sounds. Having established the elements that constitute the compositional model, the prelude and the fugue, the composer experiments with the harmonic-contrapuntal potential of the system based on major and minor keys, capturing all the impulses arising from the growing interest in chromatic ordering.
Even in The Well-Tempered Clavier, as in much of Bach's output, the influence of Italian musical style emerges. In this specific case, one of the main references is certainly Girolamo Frescobaldi, the only Italian composer cited by Philipp Emanuel Bach among the authors appreciated and studied by his father since his artistic youth.

Biographies

Nicola Lamon studied at the "B. Marcello" Conservatory in Venice, graduating in 2001 with top marks and honors in both Organ and Organ Composition with Elsa Bolzonello Zoja and Harpsichord with Sergio Vartolo and Marco Vincenzi. He also obtained a diploma in Gregorian Chant with full marks with Lanfranco Menga. In the academic year 2005-2006, at the "B. Marcello" Conservatory in Venice, he obtained a second-level academic diploma in organ with a score of 110 cum laude. He participated in numerous masterclasses at various international academies: in organ and improvisation with H. Davidson and W. Porter in Smarano (TN), with J.L. Gonzalez Uriol in Daroca (Spain), at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, for harpsichord, with Cristophe Rousset, obtaining a diploma of merit. He has received several awards in various national and international competitions: in organ, third prize in Borca di Cadore in 2001 and 2005, first prize in Viterbo in 2003, and third prize in Fano Adriano (TE) in 2006; in harpsichord, first prize in Fusignano (RA) in 2003, and first prize in Pesaro in 2005. He has served as the second organist at the prestigious Basilica di San Marco in Venice, collaborating with the Cappella Marciana in concert and recording performances. He follows and studies with particular interest historical partimento and improvisation aimed at the research and performance of basso continuo. With his colleague David Brutti on cornetto, he founded the duo "Seicento Stravagante" engaged in promoting Renaissance and Baroque keyboard instruments, participating in recordings and concerts. He also works as an organist and harpsichord continuo player in various ensembles, collaborating in masterclasses and advanced courses. He was a contract lecturer at the "C. Pollini Conservatory of Padua" for keyboard practice and vocal repertoire reading and, has worked as a harpsichord accompanist at the Arrigo Pedrollo Conservatories in Vicenza and Agostino Steffani in Castelfranco Veneto (TV). He is also involved in the monumental integral performance of the two books of J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier and The Art of Fugue.

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