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Goldberg Variations (J.S. Bach)
“The famous set of thirty variations which Bach dedicated to a celebrated harpsichord player named Goldberg is one of his most characteristic works; the principle of the ‘ basso ostinato ‘ may be discerned underlying the great majority of the variations, though it is never obtrusively prominent; yet it is this, rather than the theme of the superimposed sarabande, which is the groundwork of the whole. The plan is that of a series of canons successively on every interval from the second to the tenth, divided from one another by variations of which the more obvious purpose is to give relief to the contrapuntal numbers, whether in a display of the technical skill of the performer, or in movements of a tenderly emotional cast. The technical difficulties are mainly such as are only possible upon a harpsichord with two manuals, on which the constant crossing of the parts can be clearly brought out; and some of the later variations, especially one in which alternate chords are taken by the two hands each on its own keyboard, are almost prophecies of some of Liszt’s favourite devices. For the close of the wonderful series, a ‘Quodlibet’ on two popular songs of Bach’s day is placed over the bass, the result being a triumphant instance of the happy concealment of consummate art in a little piece which would only strike the average hearer as a peculiarly jovial ending to the variations.”
Source: The Oxford History of Music, vol. IV. The Age of Bach and Handel, p. 157. By J. A. Fuller-Maitland. 1902.
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Recordings:
Goldberg variations / Johann Sebastian Bach. 1685-1750, composer.
Location: Homewood Adult Music CDs
Call No.: CD Bac Classical
(Homewood Library has recordings by three different performers.)
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On YouTube, played by András Schiff
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