Several choices exist for collectors who seek intimacy and lyricism above all else in piano versions of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1: namely André Vieru, Michel Levinas and, more persuasively, Jill Crossland. Indeed, this recording represents a quantum leap over the bland and enervated Goldberg Variations she made a few years back (Warner). Within seconds you're drawn into the gentle hammer-strokes that unlock Crossland's warm, rounded and perpetually singing sonority, gorgeously captured via Jonathan Haskell's engineering.

The Preludes inspire Crossland's best work. I especially enjoyed the C major's intelligent dynamic build and subtle shadings, the D major's perky left-hand accents, the G major's skittish yet impeccably controlled fingerwork, the A flat major's conversational thrust and the A minor's brisk, angular profile.

However, as many of the fugues progress, Crossland's articulation grows less pinpointed and more generalised, while her basic tempi end up a shade slower than where she started. That's probably why the C major, C sharp minor and B flat minor Fugues (to give a few examples) appear to run out of steam. Although Crossland trills naturally and beautifully (no Rosalyn Tureck over-calculation), she's not one for adventurous ornaments in the manner of András Schiff. If you're in the market for a stand-alone Book 1 on piano, and sense that Crossland's unselfregarding Bach style might hold appeal, sample this release back-to-back with Till Fellner's ECM version (7/04) in a blind listening taste-test.