Rendering the Prosaic Persuasive: Gould and the Performance of Bach's C-minor Prelude (WTC I)

While Bach’s Prelude in C minor from the Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1 (BWV 847) is straightforward in several respects, its duple hypermeter defies simple and consistent continuation. In what is often regarded as an idiosyncratic interpretation of the piece, Glenn Gould grapples with this complex hypermeter and offers a carefully considered and compelling analysis. Through a comparison with performances by Samuel Feinberg, Wanda Landowska, and with Carl Czerny's performance edition, we argue that Gould reveals new tensions and structures within Bach’s score.