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Wendy Carlos
Well-Tempered Synthesizer
Release Date: 1969
Label: East Side

Pressed for a sequel to Switched-On Bach, the unexpectedly hot-selling breakthrough album for the synthesizer, Wendy Carlos temporarily shelved plans to move out of the 18th century and instead came up with an album that is, in some ways, even better than its famous predecessor. Her instrument rack had grown larger and more flexible and her technical abilities even sharper in the year since SOB came out -- and the improvements are audible in the thicker harmonies and more sophisticated timbres, all without losing the zest and experimental zeal of the earlier record. Here, she revisits J.S. Bach and imaginatively translates the music of Monteverdi, Handel, and especially Domenico Scarlatti into the electronic medium. Excerpts from Monteverdi's "Orfeo" and "1610 Vespers" serve as the gateway and closing benediction, respectively, to this collection, and four Scarlatti keyboard sonatas are given dazzling treatments (the sonata in G became well-known in the '90s on a Christmas TV commercial). There is a mini-suite from Handel's "Water Music" at the center of the album, and the densely orchestrated yet still dancing treatment of Bach's "Brandenburg Concerto No. 4" serves as a signpost as to how far Carlos had come in only a year. Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide

Tracks:

	Title	Composer	Time
1	Stereo Test Tone		0:10
2	Orfeo Suite: Toccata/Ritornello I/Choro II/Ritornello II/Choro ...	Monteverdi	3:15
3	Sonata in G Major, L. 209/K. 455	Scarlatti	1:38
4	Sonata in D Major, L. 164/K. 491	Scarlatti	2:25
5	Water Music: Bourrée	Handel	0:43
6	Water Music: Air	Handel	2:42
7	Water Music: Allegro Deciso	Handel	2:57
8	Sonata in E Major, L. 430/K. 531	Scarlatti	1:52
9	Sonata in D Major, L. 465/K. 96	Scarlatti	1:52
10	Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G Major, BWV 1049: Allegro	Bach	8:03
11	Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G Major, BWV 1049: Andante	Bach	3:30
12	Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G Major, BWV 1049: Presto	Bach	4:40
13	"Domine Ad Adjuvandum", From 1610 Vespers	Monteverdi	2:13