‘Trouble’ was put in inverted commas above because it is precisely that tense tuning that makes this pair of works. On reaching B-flat minor (with five flats one of the exceptional keys), he appears to have chosen a warm, subdued and enchanting approach – maybe to soften the nasty ‘falsifications’ somewhat. So as not to make too many compromises, a few keys sound almost perfect (the most prevalent), many keys sound very pleasant (the harmonic excursions) and finally a few keys sound really strident. Precisely why you would do so is a rather technical story, but it can be summed up as follows. If – like Bach – you want to write in all the keys, you will eventually get into ‘trouble’ in a historical tuning.
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