'' is a
1969 album released by
Walter Carlos following the groundbreaking ''
Switched-On Bach '' in the previous year. The album consists of a selection of pieces by
Monteverdi ,
Domenico Scarlatti , and
Handel as well as
Bach whose music was exclusively featured on the first album. The title of ''The Well-Tempered Synthesizer'' is a play on Bach's own collection of pieces entitled ''
The Well-Tempered Clavier ''.
All selections were performed on a
Moog Modular Synthesizer system. Like ''Switched On Bach'', ''The Well-Tempered Synthesizer'' was recorded on an 8 track
Ampex tape recorder using numerous takes and overdubs. This was long before the days of
MIDI Sequencers and recording the album was by all accounts a laborious process.
About Carlos's rendition of ''
Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 '', renowned Canadian concert pianist
Glenn Gould had the following to say:
Carlos's realization of the Fourth Brandenburg Concerto is, to put it bluntly, the finest performance of any of the Brandenburgs — live, canned, or intuited — I've ever heard.
# Monteverdi: Orfeo Suite (''
Toccata ''; ''
Ritornello I''; ''
Choro II''; ''Ritornello II''; ''Choro II''; ''Ritornello II'')
# Scarlatti:
Sonata In G Major
# Scarlatti: Sonata In D Major
# Handel:
Water Music : Bourree
# Handel: Water Music: Air
# Handel: Water Music: Allegro Deciso
# Scarlatti: Sonata In E Major
# Scarlatti: Sonata In D Major
# Bach: Brandenburg Concerto #4 in G Major: Allegro
# Bach: Brandenburg Concerto #4 in G Major: Andante
# Bach: Brandenburg Concerto #4 in G Major: Presto
# Monteverdi: Domine Ad Adjuvandum (from the ''1610 Vespers'')
