The well-tempered clavier I

Description

Which "Harpsichord" did Bach have in mind? Besides a "large harpsichord" by Michael Mietke, which he probably had at his disposal at the court of Cöthen, he seems to have known instruments by Gottfried Silbermann. It is also thought that he owned a 16-foot harpsichord by Johann Heinrich Harrass (now at the Musikinstrumenten-Museum in Berlin). A large instrument similar to this alleged "Bach harpsichord" was built by Zacharias Hildebrandt, who was closely linked to the composer during his stay in Leipzig. Bach traveled to Hamburg several times; it can be assumed that he knew the city's famous harpsichord-making tradition, represented by the workshops of Zell, Fleischer, and Hass. As he was known for using rich and unusual registrations on the organ, we can assume that he used equally flamboyant registrations on the harpsichord. Cristiano Holtz therefore chose a large instrument by Matthias Kramer after Christian Zell (Hamburg 1728).