Wendy Carlos: The Well-Tempered Synthesizer

Walter Carlos, now 'Wendy' following her gender reassignment in the 70's, found fame for the release of 'Switched On Bach,' a collection of virtuosic synthesiser performances of Bach compositions, reviewed in detail here. The great commercial success achieved with her debut secured several further releases, including this 1969 follow up to her debut, 'The Well Tempered Synthesizer.'

Wendy Carlos: The Well-Tempered Synthesizer

The 1999 remastered album, which is reviewed here, contains 12 musical tracks as well as an interesting vocal commentary and stereo alignment tones to calibrate systems in the by-gone era where reliable stereo sound had not permeated into the majority of living rooms. Unlike Carlos' previous album, 'The Well Tempered Synthesizer' contains tracks by Monteverdi, Domenico Scarlatti, and Handel as well as Bach. 

The performances contained within this album of Handel's Water Music and Bach's Brandenburg Concerto once more show Carlos' virtuosic ability at her craft. The 'Allegro Deciso' movement from Handel's water music is a truly vibrant and playful take on the work. Following the three movements from Handel come Scarlatti's Harpsichord Sonatas in E and D. The sonata in E once more exhibits the admirable range of timbres Carlos achieves with her Moog Modular system.

The Brandenburg Concerto performances are again of great quality, in particular the dysphoric introduction of the 'Andante' movement. The third movement, 'Presto,' revisits the playful and light-hearted nature of several tracks previous. Like the entire album, the music is crystal clear and makes highly creative use of the stereo field, two aspects of Carlos' music which have remained with her from the very start of her career.

Like the previous 'Switched On Bach' album, this release serves as a fantastic decadent exhibition of an electronic take on classical music, highly praise-worthy for both its originality and quality of performance.

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