Tradition and Modernity in the Ears and Hands of J.S. Bach

Through live performance and commentary, Mahan Esfahani will explore the historic foundations of the first book of J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier (1722). With a focus on the unwritten traditions of improvisation and compositional pedagogy that shaped this work, the lecture-recital will reveal the rich and multifaceted nature of Bach’s “48” as a source of edification for musician and listener alike. Models from Orlando Gibbons, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer, and George Frideric Handel attest to the genius of Bach in absorbing a wide range of influences within his own unique musical language.
 
Special reference will be made to the national styles of music-making related to notable instruments in the collection of the V&A, such as the 1579 Lodewijk Theewes claviorgan, the 1639 Andreas Ruckers harpsichord, and the 1776 J. & A. Kirkman harpsichord.  

Mahan will be using a faithful copy of a late 18th-century instrument from the Kirkman firm, complete with "machine stop" (the height of early Industrial Revolution technology), completed by Huw Saunders of London in 2025 and one of the very few instruments in the world of its kind. 

This special event will be held in celebration of the release of Mahan Esfahani’s The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I on Hyperion Records.

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