W.F. Bach: Complete Harpsichord Music

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach was the least famous son of the great Johann Sebastian in his time. Yet reportedly he was his father’s favourite, and he was regarded as the most original and innovative of his offspring. Composer: Wilhelm Friedemann Bach Artists: Claudio Astronio (harpsichord) 🎵 Purchase or streaming (Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music): 💎 More Information: 🎬🎮 These tracks are available for sync licensing in videos, films, tv-shows, games, advertising and more. For more information and to request a license go to: The son of the peerless Johann Sebastian, Wilhelm Friedemann was the least famous Bach of his time. Yet he is now regarded by some as the most brilliant of the Bach children, and is occasionally reported to have been his father’s favourite. A master of numerous different keyboard instruments, he was not particularly prolific, and of his 100 or so known works, many remained unprinted until the 20th century. The pieces that do survive and which feature on this recording are brilliantly virtuosic and at the same time quirkily expressive, always striving for originality in ways that ran against the established modi operandi of Bach’s day. In fact, the composer was so committed to allowing the musical complexity that came naturally to him to flower fully that, unlike his more business-minded brothers, he resisted adapting his style to suit amateur musicians. In addition, his fantasias, in particular, give us a glimpse into what must have been an impressive flair for improvisation. Alternately witty, cerebral, imaginative, emotive, dark and effervescent, and always challenging, this is not music for the faint-hearted performer. Enter Claudio Astronio, a keyboard-player and conductor with a career that also spans jazz and pop music. For this album, Astronio has chosen to record all of W.F. Bach’s keyboard works – which were never assigned to a particular instrument – on the harpsichord (with the exception of four miniatures played on the organ), rendering this recording a truly unique homage to the composer. Fanfare magazine has praised Astronio’s “ability to convey the character and emotional dynamic of a vocal line“ as “incredibly beautiful, sensitive and deeply touching“. Tracklist: 0:00:00 Fantasia in A Minor, F. 23 0:03:30 Fantasia in C Major, F. 14 0:08:45 Fantasia in D Minor, F. 19 0:15:09 Fantasia in E Minor, F. 20 0:18:43 Fantasia in C Minor, F. 15 0:35:31 Fantasia in D Minor, F. 18 0:37:44 Fantasia in D Major, F. 17 0:40:34 Fantasia in E Minor, F. 21 0:50:26 Fantasia in C Minor, F. 16 0:57:31 Fugue in C Minor, F. 32 1:03:40 Fugue in F Major, F. 33 Sonata in C Major, F. 200: 1:09:09 I. Allegro 1:17:53 II. Andante 1:30:00 III. Presto Sonata in F Major, F. 6a: 1:39:57 I. Poco allegro 1:52:40 II. Minuetto 2:04:39 III. Presto Sonata in E Minor, F. 204: 2:16:41 I. Allegro non tanto 2:28:25 II. Siciliano 2:30:37 III. Vivace Sonata in C Major, F. 1a: 2:34:07 I. Allegro 2:39:31 II. Minuetto I – II 2:42:23 III. Vivace Sonata in D Major, F. 4: 2:46:50 I. Allegretto 2:50:36 II. Suave 2:54:33 III. Vivace Sonata in E-Flat Major, F. 201: 2:58:49 I. Allegro 3:04:18 II. Andante 3:06:21 III. Vivace Sonata in C Major, F. 2: 3:10:51 I. Allegro 3:15:45 II. Grave 3:19:02 III. Presto Sonata in A Major, F. 8: 3:22:35 I. Allegro 3:36:45 II. Largo con tenerezza 3:47:53 III. Allegro assai Sonata in F Major, F. 202: 3:58:12 I. Allegro 4:17:18 II. Siciliana 4:28:11 III. Presto Sonata in E-Flat Major, F. 5: 4:40:27 I. Allegro non troppo 4:45:41 II. Largo 4:48:51 III. Presto Sonata in D Major, F. 3: 4:50:46 I. Un poco allegro 4:58:31 II. Adagio 5:04:35 III. Vivace Sonata in G Major, F. 7: 5:09:51 I. Andantino – Allegro di molto 5:13:27 II. Lamento 5:18:17 III. Presto Sonata in B-Flat Major, F. 9: 5:20:44 I. Un poco allegro 5:25:23 II. Grazioso 5:28:43 III. Allegro molto 5:33:00 Polonaise in C Major, F. 12/1 5:37:08 Polonaise in C Minor, F. 12/2 5:41:32 Polonaise in D Major, F. 12/3 5:46:11 Polonaise in D Minor, F. 12/4 5:48:14 Polonaise in E-Flat Major, F. 12/5 5:52:16 Polonaise in E-Flat Minor, F. 12/6 5:58:29 Polonaise in E Major, F. 12/7 6:02:20 Polonaise in E Minor, F. 12/8 6:05:27 Polonaise in F Major, F. 12/9 6:07:52 Polonaise in F Minor, F. 12/10 6:11:31 Polonaise in G Major, F. 12/11 6:14:38 Polonaise in G Minor, F. 12/12 Harpsichord Concerto in G Major, F. 40: 6:19:58 I. Allegro non troppo 6:23:58 II. Andante 6:26:28 III. Vivace Suite in G Minor, F. 24: 6:29:43 I. Allemande 6:33:28 II. Courante 6:37:08 III. Sarabande 6:40:27 IV. Presto 6:43:12 V. Bourreé 6:45:20 VI. Trio I – II 6:49:42 The complete tracklist with artists can be found in the pinned comment! #WFBach #Complete #Harpsichord #Music #Classical #Bach #ClassicalMusic #BrilliantClassics