Luca Guglielmi: “Bach himself did not see the autograph manuscript as a 'definitive' version. He kept it as an 'open manuscript' on the rack of his harpsichord up to his death, using it as a 'textbook' for the lessons he gave to his students, never ceasing to insert a series of corrections, reworkings, improvements, small variants and even performance instructions. Bach's hands-on approach to his work in progress proves just how modern he actually was and remains. Through a truly 'holistic vision' we can embrace artistic parameters inherited from our 18th-century forebears: a profound, venerable legacy that remains unknown to the ones who approach the musical art on 'scientific' methods based on calculation and measurement. For this recording we have had the fortune to use an original Christian Zell 1737 harpsichord, a favorite of Gustav Leonhardt to whose memory this volume 1 is dedicated.”