A recording of J.S. Bach's 'Preludie in C' played by Neil Balfour.

When J.S. Bach began working on his epic Well-Tempered Clavier in 1722, chances are he wasn't thinking that it would become one of the defining musical texts in keyboard history. But, somehow, it has - and the Prelude No. 1 in C Major is where it all starts.

The Well-Tempered Clavier (there are two volumes of it, each containing a prelude and a fugue in each musical key) kicks off in C Major, the most 'natural' musical key, so he obviously made sure that the first entry is a good one. Few pieces of keyboard music sound so delicate and fragile, but there's a very Bach-ian stability to it as well. 

It's a strikingly simple piece to begin with, gently phasing through different chords and registers, but it's one of those pieces that demands to be tinkered with. Consequently, you'll hear plenty of different interpretations of this much-loved work.

Prelude No. 1 In C Major | Bach

The last movement of Beethoven's immortal 30th piano sonata (played by me).

Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 30 In E Major, Op. 109  final movement

Antonin Dvorak - Humoresk

Please visit us at http://www.reverbnation.com/thesydneyconsort for concert info, tickets, music and more. 
All comments appreciated :)

ARTIST BIO

The Sydney Consort is one of Australia’s most energetic music ensembles devoted to early music of the 17th and 18th Century. 
Originally consisting of three members the group brings together Australia’s finest musicians and singers to a small chamber orchestra of up to fifteen performers. Formed in 1997 and led by artistic directors Monika and Stan Kornel, the Sydney Consort is an ensemble dedicated to bringing beauty and wisdom of Baroque music to a rapidly growing audience. The ensemble has performed music ranging from the 16th to 18th Century, as well as contemporary Australian music, and with concert themes such as English, French, German and Italian Baroque, Music and Poetry, and the Johann Sebastian Bach concertos. 

In the year 2000, the Sydney Consort celebrated the vocal and instrumental music of Bach, commemorating the 250th anniversary of the composer’s death with spectacular concerts at the St James’ Church. Frequently, the ensemble invites other well known and talented Australian artists, instrumentalists, and vocalists to further enrich performances and broaden the repertoire. The Sydney Consort performs regularly with Sydney actors and poets as a consequence of an ongoing relationship with the Poets and Writers Society. A concert of 17th Century English music and Shakespearian sonnets was a particularly successful product of this union of arts. 

The ensemble appears regularly on classical radio programs and on Sunday Live ABC Classic FM. From 2004 the group appeared for Musica Viva Australia with concerts in Sydney and NSW (countrywide program), and in June/July 2005 and 2007, the Sydney Consort performed on their European concert tour in Italy, Germany, Luxembourg, Denmark and Poland. The ensemble has been invited to return to Europe in 2009 and will perform in Luxembourg, Germany, Denmark, Prague and Poland

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH - Sonata for harpsichord & violin in C minor (Siciliano)

Vivaldi: Concerto Op.3 No.9 In D Major, RV 230 (Violin, strings and continuo) - 3.Allegro

Billionaire - Airplanes Mashup!

Do you like Bach? I simply love this piece!

Bach Präludium Fis-moll WTKII

Grieg - Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 - III. Anitra's Dance

S.Rachmaninov - Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini - 18th Variation

Markus Gottschlich- piano
https://www.markusgottschlich.com/store/of-places-between-album

Schubert Impromptu Op.90 No.3

1. Allegro
2. Andante
3.Vivace non troppo

Maria Angelica Carlsen, violin, 
FFWW, cello, 

Ole Kristian Ruud, conductor, Norwegian Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra. 
30 january 2010

S.Rachmaninov - Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini - 18th Variation

Teonius