# 128: Donald Francis Tovey's Well-Tempered

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/wtf-bach-1217892/128-donald-francis-tovey-s-well-tempered
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/wtf-bach-1217892/128-donald-francis-tovey-s-well-tempered.md
Podcast: [WTF Bach](https://stenobird.com/podcast/wtf-bach-1217892)
Published: 2026-03-24T14:14:00+00:00
Episode link: https://wtfbach.substack.com/p/ep-128-donald-francis-toveys-well
Audio file: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/191866548/c3a2cca7972ffee0ffed6e221cb333fc.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/wtf-bach-1217892/episodes/128-donald-francis-tovey-s-well-tempered
Duration seconds: 2448

## Resource

I don’t blame us for preferring our rather clean, modern Bach editions to this: But are we so confident in our own interpretations that we can throw out the likes of Hans Bischoff, Carl Czerny, Ferruccio Busoni (pictured) and Donald Francis Tovey? These heavily annotated performance editions, while, yes, they should be read alongside a ‘cleaner’ modern edition, can certainly still teach us some beautiful musicianship. In this episode, I let Sir Donald Francis Tovey’s remarks on the g-sharp minor prelude and fugue, BWV 863, lead us through an analysis of the work. Some more from Busoni (the previous prelude and fugue,) his footnotes and ossias are exciting: Most of these editions are in the public domain on IMSLP. Have a look: https://imslp.org/wiki/Das_wohltemperierte_Klavier_I,_BWV_846-869_(Bach,_Johann_Sebastian) Finally, here is the source of confusion about the Picardy third at the end of the g-sharp minor fugue. At first glance, it certainly looks like B natural in the alto voice. (Soprano clef) But look closer. (Sorry for the resolution.) This is not Bach’s normal natural sign. It has a slash (maybe two slashes?) through it: Here are few of Bach’s natural signs. Upon comparison, the above sign certainly is modified with extra strokes to form a sharp: We Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Podcast: The best way to support this podcast, is to become a paid Substack subscriber at wtfbach.substack.com Enough paid subscribers = exclusive content, monthly merchandise giveaways! You can also make a one-time donation here: https://www.paypal.me/wtfbach https://venmo.com/wtfbach Thank you for listening! Thank you for your support. Concepts Covered: An analysis of BWV 863 exploring the four-voice fugue, the two counter-subjects, the invention of the prelude wit…

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/wtf-bach-1217892/episodes/128-donald-francis-tovey-s-well-tempered/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/wtf-bach-1217892/128-donald-francis-tovey-s-well-tempered.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.