Ailish McMahon

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Discussing the Interpretation of J.S. Bach’s Keyboard Repertoire on a Modern-Day

Piano: The Well-Tempered Clavier

The aim of this project is to shed some light on how to think about interpreting The Well-
Tempered Clavier (Bach 1997, Bach 2007) on the piano. I will question what it means for a
piano performance of The Well-Tempered Clavier (Bach 1997, Bach 2007) to be authentic. I
will determine whether being authentic means adhering to all the performance conventions of
the Baroque era and imitating the sounds of older keyboard instruments, or playing the music
as though it was originally written for piano at a time after the piano had been invented, or if it
means something in between these two extremes.

The first question to be discussed is whether it is possible for a piano performance of The Well-
Tempered Clavier (Bach 1997, Bach 2007) to be authentic. If the term “authentic” is used to
mean “historically authentic” i.e. “performances that use period instruments (or facsimiles) and
that attempt to re-create period performance idioms,” (Sherman 1998) then this is not possible.
The modern piano was first constructed in 1777 (Closson 1974, page 95), twenty-seven years
after Bach’s death in 1750 (Wolff et. al, 2017) Since the modern piano was not invented during
Bach’s time, it is not possible for a piano performance of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier (Bach
1997, Bach 2007) to be historically authentic.

However, the word “authentic” can also be used to mean “interpretively authentic.” If W is a
musical work, “A performance of W is interpretively authentic to the extent that it offers an
interpretation of W that displays a deep or profound understanding of W.” (Dodd 2015, page
489). These two ideas of interpretation are not mutually exclusive; displaying a “deep or
profound understanding of W” necessitates that the performer is aware of the instruments and
performance practices of the time in which W was composed. However, this definition does
not require that the performer play on the standard instruments of the time, or indeed that he/she
adhere to every standard performance practice of the era in which the piece was composed.
With this definition of authenticity, it is possible for a piano performance of the Well-Tempered
Clavier (Bach 1997, Bach 2007) to be authentic.

It is reasonable to think that for a piano performance of The Well-Tempered Clavier (Bach
1997, Bach 2007) to be interpretively authentic (Dodd 2015, page 489), this might mean using
some, if not all, of the standard Baroque performance practices. These practices will be

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discussed next. The areas to be discussed are articulation, stresses, dotted notes, ornamentation
and tempo.

The standard practice of articulation of the time was to play each note separated, such that “the
finger is lifted from the key just before the following note is played.” (Rothschild 1955, page
10)

Notes which occurred on strong beats were stressed by holding them for slightly longer than
notated. (Donington 1982b, page 42, Rothschild 1955, page 14, Quantz 1985b, page 127) This
practice is “now commonly described as inequality” (Donington 1982b, page 42) and the terms
inequality/unequal playing will be used to refer to this practice from now on. Rests which
occurred on strong beats were treated in the same way, i.e., by waiting slightly longer than
notated before playing the following note(s) (Rothschild 1955, page 16). Notes which created
a syncopated or dissonant effect were also emphasised using inequality. (Rothschild 1955, page
17)

A performance practice known as double-dotting (MacSweeney 2017b) was in use during the
Baroque era. This meant that a dotted note was held for its notated value plus half the value of
the following note, while the note following the dotted note was only held for half of its notated
value. (MacSweeney 2017b, Rothschild 1955, page 17)

Ornamentation was a prominent feature of Baroque music. However, C.P.E. Bach believed
“composers [should] specify the proper embellishments unmistakably, instead of leaving their
selection to the whims of tasteless performers” (1974, page 79). Quantz (1985c, page 169),
speaking of excessive additional ornamentation, says “it is unlikely that you will, on the spur
of the moment, improve upon the inventions of a composer who may have considered his work
at length.”

Tempo in the Baroque era was flexible (Donington 1982c, page 20, Rothschild 1955, page 10).
Some specific practices linked with this flexibility in tempo include using a rallentando towards
the end of a section (Donington 1982c, page 21, Rothschild 1955, page 21), for ornamental or
expressive passages (Donington 1982c, page 20) and for “quaver and semiquaver runs in both
hands simultaneously” (Rothschild 1955, page 20).

The next section of the dissertation will be an analysis of two different piano interpretations of
Preludes and Fugues No. 2 and 13 from The Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1 (Bach 1997 page
6-9, 62-65); one by Glenn Gould (2004) and another by Angela Hewitt (1995). Attention will

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be paid to whether the performance practices of the Baroque era, as described above, are used.
I will also pay attention to whether dynamic variation is incorporated into the performance.

The first interpretation to be discussed is Glenn Gould’s performance of Prelude No. 2 (2004).
The articulation is mainly separated and is very clear. Inequality (Donington 1982b, page 42)
is not used. Instead, Gould emphasises the strong beats by accenting them. Occasionally, he
uses a legato touch to join a note on a strong beat to the following note, which has the effect of
emphasising the note on the strong beat even more, e.g. the right-hand E flat in bar 5. The
ornament notated in bar 34 is executed and Gould does not add any additional ornamentation
elsewhere in the piece. The tempo is reasonably slow (beginning at crotchet = 70 b.p.m
approximately) and it is flexible: there is a slight rallentando at the beginning of bar 15 and the
end of bar 24 and rubato is used in bars 25-38. Dynamic variation is used: the piece begins mf,
there is a diminuendo in bar 4 and it is mp in bar 5; there is a crescendo in bar 9 so that it is mf
again; it is p in bars 15-18; there is a crescendo in bars 19-24; bars 25-27 are f; bars 28-36 are
mf; there is a diminuendo in bar 37 and the piece ends mp.

Angela Hewitt’s interpretation of Prelude No. 2 (1995) will be discussed next. She does not
adhere to the practice of separating each note (Rothschild 1955, page 10). Like Gould, she
generally does not play unequally (Donington 1982b, page 42), but instead emphasises the
notes on strong beats by accenting them. The one exception to this is in bar 19, where the first
notes of this bar are held for slightly longer than notated. The ornament in bar 34 is executed
and she also adds an additional inverted mordent on the E natural which is the very last note of
the piece. The initial tempo is fast; crotchet = 120 b.p.m. approximately. It is also flexible:
there is a rallentando in bars 19, 27, 33 and 37-38 and a ritenuto in bars 28 and 35. Rubato is
also used in bars 35-38. She incorporates considerable dynamic variation into her performance.
The piece begins p but crescendos immediately. From bars 1-18, there are frequent crescendos
and diminuendos so that the dynamics vary between p and mf. Bars 19-24 begin p and
crescendo until bar 25 is reached. Bars 25-27 are then executed ff. The left-hand G in bar 28 is
heavily accented and the right hand in this bar comes in p at first and then crescendos as far as
bar 34 with bars 34-38 executed mf.

Gould’s interpretation of Fugue No. 2 (2004) will be discussed next. The articulation is mainly
separated. The practice of unequal playing (Donington 1982b, page 42) is not used, apart from
in bar 28 where the rest is held for slightly longer than is notated. There is no notated
ornamentation in this fugue and Gould does not add any of his own. The tempo is

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approximately crotchet = 90 b.p.m. It remains steady throughout most of the piece, but there is
some flexibility incorporated in the form of a rallentando in bars 27-31. There is a limited
amount of dynamic variation. Bars 1-8 are mp.; it is p in bar 9; there is a crescendo in bars 9-
12 so that it is mf and then it is immediately mp in bar 13; there is a crescendo in bars 20-21
and a diminuendo in bars 21-22.

Hewitt’s interpretation of Fugue No. 2 (1995) will now be discussed. The articulation is mixed.
For example, the quavers in the subject are always played separated, but the left-hand quavers
in bars 12-14 are played legato. Like Gould, the practice of unequal playing (Donington 1982b,
page 42) is not used except that there is a pause on the rest in bar 28. Hewitt adds an inverted
mordent to the E natural in the last chord of the piece. The tempo is approximately crotchet =
76 b.p.m. and, while not varying the tempo hugely throughout the piece, she does incorporate
a ritenuto in bar 28 and a rallentando in bars 29-31. The piece begins p; there is a crescendo in
bars 13-15 followed by a diminuendo in bars 15-16; there is a crescendo in bars 17-20 followed
by a diminuendo in bars 21-23 and there is a crescendo in bar 26.

In Gould’s interpretation of Prelude No. 13 (2004), the semiquavers are played mainly staccato
and the quavers mainly legato. Inequality (Donington 1982b, page 42) is not used. The trills in
bars 1 and 7 are very short and the trills in bars 11, 13, 16 and 19 are omitted completely. The
tempo is slow: approximately dotted quaver = 64 b.p.m. There is a slight ritenuto in bars 23-
24, some rubato is used in bars 25-30 and there is a slight pause in bar 29. There is some
dynamic variation, but very little: the piece begins p; there is a slight crescendo in bars 4-5;
there is a diminuendo towards the end of bar 13 and in bars 23-24; there is also a diminuendo
in the last two bars and the piece finishes pp.

Hewitt’s interpretation of Prelude No. 13 (1995) uses mainly legato articulation, although
semiquavers are played staccato when followed by quavers. Inequality (Donington 1982b, page
42) is not used. In contrast to Gould, all the notated trills are executed and extra trills are added
in bars 20, 23 and 26. The tempo is approximately dotted quaver = 86 b.p.m. and it remains
steady throughout the piece, apart from a very slight pause before bar 29. Hewitt uses
considerably more dynamic variation than Gould. The piece begins p; there is a crescendo in
bar 4; there is a diminuendo coming into bar 10 and a crescendo in bars 11-12; there is a
diminuendo in bars 16-17 and a crescendo in bars 27-28.

The articulation is mixed in Gould’s performance of Fugue No. 13 (2004). Groups of two
quavers are generally played as two-note phrases. Inequality (Donington 1982b, page 42) is

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not used. All notated trills are executed and there are extra trills added in bars 12, 15 and 28.
The tempo is approximately dotted quaver = 64 b.p.m. and there is little variation in it. There
is a ritenuto in bar 16, 32 and 34. There is also a slight pause before the trill in bar 22. Very
little dynamic variation is used: the piece is mp throughout apart from a slight diminuendo in
bar 34.

Hewitt’s articulation of Fugue No. 13 (1995) is mainly legato. She does not play unequally
(Donington 1982b, page 42), apart from pausing very slightly on the first note of bar 25. All
notated trills are executed and extra trills are added in bars 10 and 15. The tempo is
approximately crotchet = 70 b.p.m. and it remains steady throughout. The piece begins mp and
then crescendos to bar 11; the second half of bar 11 begins p; there is a crescendo from bars
11-22; bar 23 begins mp and there is a crescendo from bar 31 until the end, although the final
chord is p.

The final section of this dissertation will be a discussion of how to approach interpreting the
Well-Tempered Clavier (Bach 1997, Bach 2007) on the piano. The first question to address is
whether it is even appropriate to perform this music on a piano. To answer this, another
question must be asked: would the composer have approved of The Well-Tempered Clavier
(Bach 1997, Bach 2007) being performed on a piano? Naturally, this cannot be answered with
any certainty, but it is possible to speculate.

Bach’s favourite instrument was the clavichord, whose repertoire was “comprised [of] all
those…...pieces marked by ‘expressiveness.’” (Closson 1974, page 23) Since the
expressiveness of the clavichord was a significant feature of it, it is reasonable to think that this
was an instrumental quality which Bach considered important. Similarly, expressiveness is a
significant feature of the modern piano. If the expressiveness of the instrument was important
to Bach, which it appeared to be, then it is difficult to imagine him objecting to his music being
played on an instrument as expressive as the piano.

Despite this similarity between the two instruments, the clavichord and the piano are in many
other ways extremely different in the sounds that they make. The piano also sounds very unlike
both the harpsichord and the organ. It could be argued that The Well-Tempered Clavier (Bach
1997, Bach 2007) should not be played on a piano because the characteristic sound of the piano
is simply too different to the sounds of these three instruments to be able to render a
performance interpretively authentic (Dodd 2015, page 489). However, it should be noted that
the clavichord, harpsichord and organ also sound very different from each other. Since Bach

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simply specified that the works were for keyboard instruments (1997, 2007) on his score, we
can assume that he would have been satisfied for any of these three instruments to be used in
the interpretation of his work. Therefore, since a historically authentic (Sherman 1998)
performance is not the goal in this case, arguing that the piano sounds too different to these
three instruments is not a strong basis for claiming that the piano should not be used in the
interpretation of The Well-Tempered Clavier (Bach 1997, Bach 2007). If any three instruments
which sound clearly different from each other are considered acceptable to use in the
performance of a piece of music, then it doesn’t make sense to say that a fourth instrument is
not acceptable solely because it doesn’t sound like any of the original three. Therefore, it is
possible to conclude that it is acceptable to perform The Well-Tempered Clavier (Bach 1997,
Bach 2007) on the piano.

The next question to be addressed is which of the performance practices of the Baroque era
can/should be adhered to and which can/should be discarded to render a performance
interpretively authentic. Articulation will be addressed first. The convention of separating each
note (Rothschild 1955, page 10) should be partially adhered to; particularly, in fact, when
interpreting these works on a piano. Since the piano does not have the same clarity of tone that
a harpsichord, for example, does (Closson 1974, page 44) it can sometimes be difficult to
distinguish the different voices from one another if the articulation is too legato. To remedy
this in the case of a fugue, it is desirable to play the subject or subject-like patterns with
separated touch and the other voice(s) with legato touch (MacSweeney 2017a). This has the
effect of highlighting the subject, so it does not get lost with the other voices.

Inequality (Donington 1982b, page 42) is the next issue to be addressed. This is a convention
which is permissible to adhere to and permissible to discard. If a pianist wishes to use inequality
when interpreting The Well-Tempered Clavier (Bach 1997, Bach 2007) on the piano, this will
give the same effect as inequality on any other keyboard instrument, i.e. it will emphasise the
notes on strong beats and/or notes which are syncopated/dissonant (Donington 1982b, page 42,
Rothschild 1955, page 14, Quantz 1985b, page 127). However, this technique, while
permissible, is not essential when interpreting these works on a piano, since pianists can also
place more emphasis on the important notes by accenting them. The piece will not sound the
same as if inequality were used, but in both versions of the piece the stronger notes are
emphasised more than the weaker notes and this concept is more important than the means
used to achieve that aim. Expanding on this, if inequality is used in some places but not others,
this has the effect of especially emphasising the notes on which inequality occurs. Rests which

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occur on strong beats should be held for longer than notated (Rothschild 1955, page 16), unless
there is some other appropriate way to emphasise them that is consistent with the character of
the piece, perhaps by having a sudden silence after a loud passage.

The practice of double-dotting (MacSweeney 2017b, Rothschild 1955, page 17) should
generally be adhered to, since there is no other technique on the piano that would create a
similar effect.

Ornamentation should always be performed where notated, since this was an important feature
of the Baroque era (Bach 1974, page 79) and the character of a piece can be quite different
when ornamentation is omitted. For example, when Hewitt (1995) performs bars 12-13 of
Prelude No. 13 (Bach 1997, page 62) with the notated ornamentation, a sense of excitement
and a build-up of tension is created. By contrast, when Gould (2004) omits those ornaments in
his interpretation of Prelude No. 13 (Bach 1997, page 62-63), this section of the piece is much
calmer. Perhaps the reason he feels it is permissible to omit the ornamentation at these points
is because on a piano it is possible to hold those notes for the notated amount of time, whereas
on a harpsichord or clavichord it wouldn’t be possible to sustain them. Regarding the addition
of un-notated ornaments, this is permissible so long as it is not overdone (Quantz 1985c, page
169).

Flexibility of tempo (Donington 1982c, page 20, Rothschild 1955, page 10) is the final Baroque
performance practice to be discussed. This, like inequality (Donington 1982b, page 42), is a
practice which is permissible to adhere to and permissible not to adhere to. The purpose of
having a flexible tempo is to create expression. For example, an accelerando may be used to
build tension. However, since dynamics are possible on the piano, a similar effect in this
instance could be created by using a crescendo. These two techniques are not mutually
exclusive, so both could be used in this case. If not varying the tempo doesn’t have the effect
of making the piece sound too rigid, then it is permissible to maintain a steady pace throughout.
However, to avoid this rigidness, it is usually desirable for a performance of The Well-
Tempered Clavier (Bach 1997, Bach 2007) to incorporate some flexibility in the tempo, but
this might only mean using a slight rallentando towards the end of a section (Donington 1982c,
page 21, Rothschild 1955, page 21).

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The next section of this dissertation is a discussion of the suitability of piano techniques (such
as dynamics or pedal) which are not possible on a clavichord, harpsichord or organ.1

It could be argued that, even if it is acceptable to interpret The Well-Tempered Clavier (Bach
1997, Bach 2007) on a piano, it is not acceptable to use dynamics or pedal because those
techniques are not possible on earlier keyboard instruments. However, if someone chooses to
interpret these works on a piano, it doesn’t make sense to do it without letting the piano be a
piano. In other words, it doesn’t make sense to imitate the sound of an earlier instrument by
avoiding the use of techniques which are not possible on that instrument. Also, it should be
noted that the harpsichord and clavichord have advantages which the piano does not. For
example, the timbre of the harpsichord makes it easier for the listener to distinguish between
the different voices than it is on a piano (Closson 1974, page 44). Bebung (a technique similar
to vibrato) can be used on the clavichord (MacSweeney 2017a). Since the piano does not have
these expressive characteristics, it makes sense that a performer should embrace the piano’s
own expressive characteristics (such as dynamics and pedal) in a performance of The Well-
Tempered Clavier (Bach 1997, Bach 2007). In fact, if it was unacceptable to use these
techniques when interpreting The Well-Tempered Clavier (Bach 1997, Bach 2007) on the
piano, then this would directly contradict the argument from the beginning of this dissertation
that it is permissible play The Well-Tempered Clavier (Bach 1997, Bach 2007) on the piano at
all. If the expressiveness of the instrument is a quality Bach considered important (Closson
1974, page 23), then it does not make sense to say that the expressive techniques of the piano
should not be used.

To conclude, the primary reason that it is permissible to perform The Well-Tempered Clavier
(Bach 1997, Bach 2007) on a piano is because the piano is an expressive instrument and
expressiveness was clearly a quality that was valued by Bach (Closson 1974, page 23). This
means that it is possible to create a piano interpretation of The Well-Tempered Clavier (Bach
1997, Bach 2007) which is interpretively authentic (Dodd 2015, page 489). To answer the
question of how such works should be interpreted, it is up to the performer to think critically
about the effect Bach was trying to achieve when he wrote those pieces of music and to decide
whether this effect is best achieved by sticking to standard performance practices of the time
or by using standard performance practices of modern times, or some combination of the two.

1
I have referred to dynamics above in relation to flexibility of tempo under the assumption that this is
permissible.

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When doing this, it is important to remember that a musical score is not a strict set of rules
which determine every single aspect of how the piece must be played and which must be
followed exactly to render a performance as authentic. If it were, there would be no such thing
as interpretation at all because every performance of such a score would sound the same.
Rather, a score is “a site of negotiation between composer and performing artist.” (Dodd 2015,
page 495)

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Instruments, London: Eulenburg, page 79.

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Henle Verlag.

Beauséjour, L. (2007) J.S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1 (24 Preludes and
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Donington, R. (1982c) 'Shaping the Tempo', Baroque Music: Style and Performance: A
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Gould, G. (2004) Bach: The well-tempered Clavier Book I & II. Sony Classical. Available at:
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Quantz, J. J. (1985b [1752]) 'Of Good Execution in General in Singing and in Playing', On
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Quantz, J. J. (1985c [1752]) 'Of the Manner of Playing the Adagio', On Playing the Flute,
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http://www.bsherman.net/encyclopedia.html. [17 April 2017]

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Thomas, M. (1984) J.S. Bach: Preludes and Fugues No. 1 to 12.

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