Goldberg Variations: Aria

Overtures belong at the beginning, introducing what is to come. So why is one found at Variation 16 of the giant Goldberg Aria and Variations?  Well, it is the beginning, but of the second half of 30 variations. Variation 15 takes us into fear and anguish with a mirrored canon in the (unheard of) key of G minor. After 45 minutes of bright G major since the opening aria, this change into the parallel minor key is stark, but not as stark and bare as the open fifth ending: a lone D string. Then follows a pause (in this performance by Jean Rondeau) of fully 35 seconds. We start fresh, renewed with the joy of G major after this pause which literally divides the performance in half. The French "Ouverture" is a new beginning, replete with bright and shimmering baroque ornamentation. And yet it fits in the mold of the harmonic structure of the original Aria. While we think that there are beautiful performances of the Goldberg Variations on the modern piano, we lament the limitations of the low end of our big new instrument. Of all the 30 plus the Aria, this variation is the one which must be heard on the instrument for which it was intended -- harpsichord.    Aria mit 30 Veränderungen (Goldberg Variations) BWV 988: Jean Rondeau, Netherlands Bach Society

To play baroque music properly -- especially a bouncing jig like this one in 12/8 time -- you must "unlearn what you have learned", and rethink how you articulate music.  Articulation is so important -- the music must feel and look light and airy.  This performance by the Netherlands Bach Society fits this feeling perfectly -- the musicians look casual yet classy, showing that Baroque music can indeed be lighthearted and fun. See this performance by the Netherlands Bach Society, directed by Shunske Sato SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LISTENERS! See a FREE performance of this cantata at Alex's church, by Cathedral Singers and orchestra, Sunday, November 2, at 4pm; details here.

The towering thirty Goldberg Variations combine into a masterwork of keyboard music. As all variation pieces, they were based on a relatively simple source material. But as is his way, Bach organized the variations with a complex and deliberate structure. But also unlike other composers of this form, he poured more into this source material itself.  The famous Aria could stand alone as a sublimely decorated Baroque keyboard piece, but it doesn't stand alone; its bass line and harmonic progression (not its gorgeous melody!) are the actual foundations of all thirty variations. Bach simply could not resist pouring this beauty into even this, the harmonic "template" for the next 90 minutes of music! And this foundation does hold up, all the way until the end, where we are told to play the Aria again, now as our ending. Baroque ornamentation and performance practice takes this piece past its simple structure. We discuss this ornamentation and one particularly strange and almost inscrutable moment in the middle.  Aria mit 30 Veränderungen ("Goldberg Variations") BWV 988, as performed by Jean Rondeau for the Netherlands Bach Society

Listener HG drew our attention to a similarity between the Courante of this cello suite and the "Cum Sancto Spiritu" from the Mass in B minor.  We talk about these dance forms and how they affect the affect, so to speak.  Nowadays, it's easy to think of Bach as old-fashioned, and certainly some composers in the late 1700s thought the same; however he shows here that he was ahead of his time.  The "shoulder cello" (violoncello da spalla) makes another appearance here, smaller than the typical cello.  The instrument sacrifices the deep warmth of the cello for nimbleness and an extra string which allows for higher notes.   Performance of Cello Suite no. 6 (BWV 1012) by Sergey Malov for the Netherlands Bach Society

"An understated overture" is the description Christian arrives at to describe the humility of the micro-regal sonata which opens the Weimar cantata "Himmelskönig, sei willkommen." Is this thing, marked "adagio, grave," actually a triumphant French Overture? The performance suggests so, in some ways, and not in others. Experienced musicians of baroque music will know the subtleties, which we discuss in this episode. Indeed, it is a march of kingly victory, but not in pomp and circumstance; it is the small and gentle arrival of a humble king of Heaven and Earth, arriving to the world as a helpless baby, and arriving to Jerusalem on a donkey on Palm Sunday. Also, featuring Rage Against the Machine and a very unsettling "Shepard Tone"! BWV 182 cantata "Himmelskönig, sei willkommen" as performed by the Netherlands Bach Society, directed by Johanna Soller

This cantata has an unusual run of three arias in a row -- and the last one of the three is the most remarkable.  In deleting a note, creating a rest where there should be music, Bach breaks all the rules -- and creates a stunning effect. See the performance of BWV 182 by the Netherlands Bach Society, Johanna Soller, artistic director

Bach used the materials for this sonata several times throughout his life. Each collection of parts is different, and there are three versions. This is version 1019c, as labeled by the BWV categorical system for Bach's works. There are five parts of this last of his six sonatas for violin and harpsichord. We discover the joys of rhythmic ambiguity, rhythmic complexity, and even a middle movement without the violin! (And yet sometimes this is called "Violin Sonata in G major," shirking the credit of the keyboardist.)  Christian focuses in on the end of the 4th movement, where a short ending extends and wanders into a surprising and somewhat tonally unclear ending. But it is made clear in the next moment, when the joyful key of G major returns in the jaunty final allegro. Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord in G major (BWV 1019c) as performed by Shunske Sato and Diego Ares for the Netherlands Bach Society

When assembling his Mass in B minor, Bach drew from many of his older works.  Here is one great example.  If you, like us, have always been mesmerized by the haunting sound of the "Qui tollis" movement from the Mass in B minor, you absolutely must hear the opening chorus to the cantata Schauet doch und sehet, which is the full version of the material, and which concludes in a twirling, twisting fugue.  See the performance of Schauet doch und sehet (BWV 46) by the Netherlands Bach Society, conducted here by Hans-Christoph Rademann Compare with the "Qui tollis" movement of the Mass in B minor, Netherlands Bach Society, led by Jos van Veldhoven

We return to the Mighty Fortress cantata to do a deeper analysis on the theological counterpoint of this movement.  Bach combines two vocal parts -- one is Luther's hymn and the other is new poetry with Bach's own music -- and weaves both of those into a tapestry of staccato strings and marching bass.   Bach's theological profundity is what separates him from the other composers; when Bach weaves two separate texts together, he adds meaning to both by connecting their core essences together. Netherlands Bach Society performing BWV 80 mvt 2

What good is a centerpiece but to add to the pomp and pride and beauty of a ceremonial occasion? The Polonaise is historically such a centerpiece for such an elegant, lavish affair. Chopin is the natural figure for the Polonaise, a stately dance for pairs, but it was known much earlier to the Baroque composers. Bach was no stranger to Polish style, as shown in this centerpiece Polonaise to the Menuet of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 1.  When Bender the robot was driftless in space with his candelabra, he realized it belonged on a piano centerpiece. It was a shame that he couldn't manage to get his Chopin working before he got too frustrated.    Polonaise from the Menuet of Brandenburg Concerto No. 1