Hill's technique is impressive, but he eschews flamboyant showmanship, bringing instead humility, poise and gravitas to these accounts. Tempos are thoughtfully judged and tend to underscore the reflective, meditative qualities that underlie many of Bach's later works.

Hill is unfailingly musicianly in his approach, his playing full of the kind of insights that can only come from long acquaintance with the music. He lets Bach speak for himself - this is entirely unegotistical playing - the opposite end of the specturm from Gould's highly interventionist approach....What I miss in Hill's recording is an audible relish for the instrument itself.

Hill’s playing certainly never wallows, though you have to accept the broad view he takes and not let yourself become anxious and frustrated. As each work unfolds, the logic of Hill’s choices becomes apparent, and the joy is in re-discovering the pieces in a frequently new sounding framework of reflection and open ended duration.

Every performance here is quite audibly the product of careful consideration; every musical decision, whether over tempi, phrasing, or dynamics, seems utterly logical. Yet there's nothing didactic about the results, just a wonderfully natural unfolding of these pieces, in which Hill is never ashamed to make full use of the tonal resources of the modern piano. The crystalline quality of his quiet playing is a regular pleasure.

Too often pigeonholed as a 'Messiaen-pianist'...Hill here shows a natural and direct response to Bach's invention that makes a refreshing alternative to some of his starrier, flashier rivals on disc.

Mentioning all the high spots would require too many words. Hill’s lyrical way with the preludes is a consistent joy, and the gentle, unobtrusive control of tempo makes some of them sound like baroque improvisations. He can play with delicacy and humility.