You can listen to all the Goldberg Variations here by Pianoteq Stage.
All human beings are floating in the empty sky
Without any earth on which they place their feet
First of all, to give them the earth
Should have been to save not only Him but All Mankind
Flowery Story of SAIGYO ( by Kunio TUJI )*** temporary translation
At first, it should be asked if music can be the object of "intellect" or not. But, while talking about all kinds of music, for example, classic, popular, jazz, and karaoke, there will not be any answer. Here, the object of "music of intellect" is a particular piece of music, that is to say, Bach's "The Goldberg Variations", and I am not going to browse any other works.
Why do the Goldberg Variations have reality as "music of intellect", and are they to be the object of intellectual manipulation? I am going to think about it with you. By the way, I do not follow the pass on which many critics do their analysis or commentary.
To tell the truth, it is impossible for me to do that because I am not a specialist in the field of music. Instead, I would like to make it possible for us to do some philosophical thinking about music by using SMF (standard MIDI file) data format.
The reason why I am going to think about the Goldberg Variations as " Music of Intellect" is that the performance of Glenn Gould inspired it. Gould's debut record was, as you know, his first Goldberg Variations in 1955. It was really like a challenge in the intellectual field of music. And actually, I wouldn't say I liked it. Because I could not see through the meaning of his work.
After a while, I completely forgot the Goldberg Variations by Gould. But his Well-Tempered Clavier vol.2 No.14 impressed me deeply, and his Mozart Piano Sonatas playing invited me to a new world of musical pleasure. So, I became one of Gould's enthusiasts.
In 1981, Gould made the second recording of the Goldberg Variations; the next year, he suddenly passed away. He was 50 years old. Like many other fans worldwide, I was shocked by his unexpected death. This peculiar coincidence between his death and his second Goldberg in 1981 put a spell on me.
Recording in 1955 and another in 1981 were different. In 1955, he used an analog monophonic system. In 1981, the digital stereo recording system and CD distribution became possible. Performance in 1981 was like " Intellect has been unified with the Spirit of the Universe". On the other hand, performance in 1955 was different, like a pointed challenge of Intellect.
The first CD that I bought was Gould's Goldberg Variations, and I gave it to my friend. I bought several CDs of Gould's Goldberg Variations. So, many times, I listened to this Goldberg. One hundred times, 200 times. But listening only or listening and reading score cannot lead me to the realm of "Music of INTELLECT" without any help. Then, a new device came into my home. That is a computer, MIDI or digital piano. These tools encouraged me to start my exploration. So, let's begin the quest together for "Music of INTELLECT".
What was the purpose for J. S. Bach to compose this set of variations, the Goldberg Variations? That was "For sleep". In this document, where "Music of Intellect" is the main title, it might be strange to say abruptly, "It is for sleep". But, the history of its composition indicates it. Notes of each CD tell us so. Although many enthusiasts of the Goldberg may know about this, I would like to show the said-facts briefly as follows..........
"J. S. Bach sent one of his eligible students, J.G.Goldberg, to Count Keiserlingk as a resident clavirist. Then Count Keiserlingk had asked Bach to compose a musical work which 'could make up his sleepless night hours by mind healing, and should be calm and somehow cheerful'. Bach made this set of variations to cure Count's insomnia and send it to him.
Count Keiserlingk highly appreciated it and rewarded Bach with a considerable amount of money. Under these circumstances, this set of variations was named after Bach's student Goldberg who should be the first performer in history."
There are a lot of versions of performing the Goldberg Variations, and each comment tells this story with a little bit of difference. For your reference, the original facsimile of the cover page of the Goldberg Variations contains the message
Clavier-Ubungbestehend in einer Aria mit verschiedenen Veraenderungen vors Clavicimbal mit 2 Manualen. Denen Liebhabern zur Gemuths - Ergetzung verfertiget
Glenn Gould pointed out, on the occasion of his first recording, that it was very much doubtful if 'Maestro' Goldberg had been playing this bitter taste work truly and precisely with any success of making effect as a lullaby, and said that the theory "Music for Sleep" was not more than an episode. It is understandable as Gould's comment about this work, because he himself had chosen this work for his debut recording in 1955, as the ultimate object for his intellectual challenge, and resultantly millions of people supported his outcome.
Ralf Kirkpatrick indicated, in the scorebook he edited in 1934, "The musical feeling for the true expression of Bach's phrases is usually, or should be, developed mainly by intellect." So he may have said, "This is the Music of Intellect."
Now, contemporary listeners are listening to this work in order not to cure insomnia but to explore the ultimate world of musical sense in the ship of the Music of Intellect. So, the cracks between "intellect" and "sleep" cannot be fixed. Anyway they are entertaining this intellectual challenge in the field of music.
A musical work based on the necessity for sleep is now the one for the intellectual challenge. A musical work for a Count is now shared by many people all over the world. Many performers have played this work by now. But Glenn Gould has contributed greatly to promoting more people to love the Goldberg Variations.
The relation between "Music of Intellect" and "Music for Sleep" is profoundly interesting. Both Intellect and Sleep are directly related to the human soul, heart, and will. So, I would like to study and investigate it from various aspects. Through this process, I want to find out the fun of Intellect, and, at the same time, verify the comfort of Sleep.
First, let's begin with Intellect. And later come back and think about the meaning of "Music of Intellect".
Although the conversion from "Music for Sleep" to "Music of Intellect" was brought by Glenn Gould, there is no doubt that 'the Goldberg Variations' itself has and had the characteristics of "Music of Intellect" in its inner body. In Bach's time, it was natural that some works were composed on the request-bases, or that some were dedicated to someone for getting some reward. So, even in the case that J. S. Bach received an order, he composed this work with his own creativity and concentration. This must not be a simple lullaby or a sleeping pill at all.
The ovation by Ralph Kirkpatrick for this work is for the highest level. He said, "Through lyricism, tragic passion and overwhelming delights, Aria and its variations eliminate the personal ugliness and give shape to the perfectly purified divinity."
Glenn Gould expressed the Goldberg Variations as one of the most immortal keyboard works or as a tremendous musical structure ever made in history.
But, however great this work is, it does not make it "music of intellect". The Goldberg Variations are somehow different from other works. This work has a distinguished character on which "intellect" can be activated. The structure of the work can be not only interpreted as an intellectual object but also reconstructed into music.
Robert Schumann, the great musician of the Roman school, utilized his intellectual potentiality as far as possible for composition, but to perform his work like Kreisleriana needs a pianist's virtuosity expressing emotional waves. The Goldberg Variations inspire deep, heartfelt impressions, but these impressions should be intellectual. And it brings us a great delight aroused from "Music of Intellect".
To think about "Music of Intellect" through the Goldberg Variations, it is necessary for us to know at first about Glenn Gould.
Gould was born on September 25, 1932 in Toronto, Canada. His recording debut was in 1955 with his remarkable 'the Goldberg Variations'. At that time, he was also a performing pianist on concert stages. However, it is widely known that he left the stages in 1964 and had been concentrating on recording alone. 'No performance on stage' itself became a worldwide topic, and at the same time, fans were disappointed without his live performance. Instead, Gould sometimes did radio or TV programs. In 1981, he rerecorded the Goldberg Variations for his second official recording. The next year, abruptly, he passed away in his age 50.
Gould had a great influence on many people through his performance, especially through his disks and CDs. The approach toward "Intellect" through the Goldberg Variations should be Gould's peculiarity.
But on the other side, he became much more famous for his eccentric conducts. Let me show some of them.
* He was a pianist. However, he abandoned concert stage performances.
Since the year 1964, he left concert stages. At that time, recording technology developed, which made him possible to continue musical activities like recording in studios. Though the Beatles stopped concerts in the 1970s, Gould was running forward in that sense. One of the prominent music critics has a theory: "I can not say good or not without hearing one's performance on the concert stage." This kind of prerequisite is like, "I can not enjoy a movie without seeing the same story stage performance."
* Playing the piano in an unusual sitting posture.
He plays the piano in a low profile on a chair with shorter chair legs. When one hand can be free from the keyboard, he swings it like a conductor in front of his orchestra. Sometimes, he wears gloves even while performing.
More famous is that he sings or does humming while playing. We can enjoy his humming on many of his CDs.
* His repertory is different from others.
He never played, so I think, the works of F. Chopin or Robert Schumann, ordinarily favorite for many pianists. He loves J. S. Bach. And Arnold Schoenberg, Paul Hindemith, Anton von Webern are the next. For us enthusiasts, the Mozart piano sonata works played by Glenn Gould are precious like a treasure box full of gold. In the case of Beethoven, Bagatel works. In case of Brahms, Intermezzos. None of the ordinary pianists can share the philosophy for the selection of repertory.
* His piano is special.
Watching the video program "ON THE RECORD; OFF THE RECORD," manufactured in 1959, you can see how Glenn Gould selected the best piano for his recording in the Steinway & Sons shop. Gould sought the one with light action and a broader width between keys. He had a remodeled Chickering piano in his home, so he liked this type of instrument. For almost all the recordings, the specific Steinway & sons piano was used. But for the second Goldberg recording, one old second-hand Yamaha piano was used, which Gould found out by chance. Following the history of selecting pianos might be interesting for you.
* He is eccentric in his ordinary life.
Even when it was warm, he wore cloth on cloth, even with gloves. He took many kinds of medicine all through the year. He never shook hands for fear of affecting his hands, which might be common for a pianist. One time, when he was tapped on the shoulder, he got angry furiously about it.
* All in all, his musical performance is exceptional.
There are numerous episodes that showed his eccentricities. But without those episodes, only listening to his performances, for example, the Goldberg, the Well-tempered Clavier, especially Volume 2 No.14 or Mozart's piano sonata No.11, can give us great musical pleasure. It may not be necessary to have any information not related to his music itself.
Now, we are going to think about the method of "INTELLECT" in the field of art, including music. Many of you may know the "Birth of Venus" created by Sandro Botticelli. We may use it as a material for thinking. The Birth of Venus was accomplished in 1485 or so, and it is one of the most famous paintings in the area of Italian Renaissance. Even before the historical repair, the Birth of Venus was famous enough, saying, "Among more or less sooty colors emerges its calm beauty." But the repair work completed by the year 1982 revealed its fundamental and original beauty, so the painting was again widely applauded. It was said, "There are many lights in various amorous colors." The repair work was to take away the dust stuck on the surface for years with the present highest level of technology and the professionals' unbelievable patience. The result surprised people with its true beauty.
Let's apply this case to the Goldberg. Where is the complete difference between paintings and musical works? You can see the paintings as they are, with or without understanding. Nowadays, we can enjoy the painting with its colors and contents by looking at its copy, which was well done with the finest printing technology. If you have time and money, you can visit Florence, Italy, and stand in front of "the Birth of Venus". But in former years, it must be almost impossible for ordinary people to see the work itself.
J. S. Bach published the Goldberg Variations as the practice pieces volume 4, and the Goldberg was almost forgotten after Bach passed away. R. Schumann loved the Well-Temperd Clavier but made no comment about the Goldberg. Even if you have the score, you can not enjoy the music by only looking at it. There should be a player, I mean, a pianist, for you to listen to the music. Paintings can be seen if they are open to the public. In the era without recording technique, music could exist in this world only while someone was playing it. So, I suppose Bach chose the form of "the practice pieces" to publish in order to get more people acquainted with his works.
Before 1950s, the Goldberg Variations existed only in the form of a scorebook. As music itself, few people could experience the Goldberg. Glenn Gould utilized the newly developed recording technology and showed us the genuine existence. Glenn Gould reincarnated the Goldberg Variations into our world with dazzling lights.
Now, we can enjoy the Birth of Venus on virtuous printed materials or data on CDROMs or through the Internet in our home or neighborhood library, whose images are as good as the real one. However, it is best to stand in front of it in its real scale at the Uffizi Museum and to feel the atmosphere with other adorers.
The Goldberg is now on CD, so we can listen to it anytime, anywhere, or under any circumstances. On the contrary, we can never attend the performance of J. S. Bach or even Glenn Gould while they are actually playing. All we have now is the Goldberg Variations, composed by J. S. Bach and played by a so-so pianist. Music without a performer does not seem to work at all. Instead, there are more than 30 combinations of the Goldberg by Bach and by a pianist. Even Gould made two official recording versions. Analogizing this situation with the Birth of Venus, are these performances of the Goldberg Variations like printed materials or copies?
By the way, the Venus of Botticelli was given another life in another place. That was produced by Andy Warhol. Many of you know the portrait of Marilyn Monroe done by Warhol. Warhol transformed the face of the Venus into another individual artwork. The work is from the Venus of Botticelli, but the artist of it was Andy Warhol. How is the case of the Goldberg?
I am the reborn Venus.
I had my hair cut.
And I've come to the 21st Century.
I'd like to be an ordinary woman and enjoy the Goldberg Variations.
Minicking Andy Wahool
Hi! Glenn and Iori. Nice to see you.
I am talking about "Music of Intellect". So it is necessary for me to deal with a certain musical work as the object of "Intellect". How do I manage it? Some critics say like a "splendid performance without any kinds of vanity ornaments", "I feel very happy to hear it because there are no dust nor feather, and because it draws a very sharp edge", "instead of dignity or concentration, going outward" or "pulling the music to one's pianism, and at the same time, exploring deep into the inner world of the work". Those expressions are obscure and meaningless. I don't want to use these pedantic sentences. But anyway, our trial toward "Music of Intellect" should be interesting, not tasteless. So, we have to carefully avoid those ciphers used among music critics to explain the context of scores. Using those ciphers may be somehow effective, but in other words, it is like "interpreting one language into another foreign language which we can not understand.
The score is the start, and we investigate the performances accomplished until now by various pianists. It means that it is necessary to check almost all CDs of the Goldberg Variations. To look into the secrets between the score and the recording is important. Fortunately, not a few pianists recorded the Goldberg. So we have good samples to study.
By the way, where is the existence of music? From the view of composers, the result might be scores, but without performance, there will be no music at all. In Bach's era or before, the reputation of a specific work made its score published, and it became more popular. So, the score itself is the music. In the case of the Goldberg Variations, we need the score, a performer and an instrument to listen to it. Some of us have the ability to hear the tune inside of the head by only reading the score. Some memorize the entire score, so there is no need for them to look at the score. In the case of rock or Jazz, the score itself is not always necessary. Thinking about these situations, do SMF data, in other words, MIDI data belong to the score, or to performing the tune? Confusing?
I would like to point out here that the Goldberg has been free from the pianists' kingdom since we could have the MIDI data of it, more than 250 years long after the completion of the Goldberg. If you are one of the enthusiasts of the Goldberg and you can handle the MIDI data with a sequencer, you will meet your own Goldberg without through pianists' hands.
This kind of freedom is indispensable for us. Under this freedom, the Goldberg Variations can be an object of "Music of Intellect". But this freedom is a very tough companion. Gould said, "There is a harmony integrated under intuition here. This harmony is born from skill and careful examination, is matured under perfect technique and emerges as the illusion of an idea drawn unconsciously. It stands proudly on the top." It is difficult to understand. "Skill" or "technique" is for composition or performance? I do not know. Anyway, it needs great efforts to obtain this "freedom" in our hands.
The word "freedom" is difficult to handle. You may think that you can get unlimited freedom. But it is not. The limit of this freedom depends on each person's range of skill and technique. However, by utilizing MIDI, much or less, you can go beyond the wall of ability to tap the keys of the piano. The ability of fingers confines the quality of music performance. Liberalization from the curse of fingers is wonderful, even if we can not see anything beyond the border.
Gould thought, "Any argument about Bach's music can not be away from the selection of instruments. That is the problem of piano? or harpsichord? or something else?". Gould himself used his specially tuned piano, whose tone resembles that of harpsichords. After quitting his performance on stage, he only used pianos from his home and the recording studio. Of course, he played the organ for recording the "Art of Fugue". And sometimes he played the harpsichord. But these occasions were exceptional.
Gould said, "The selection of instrument is not important at all." He appreciated the music of Synthesizers or Walter Carlos. Even saying so, he paid great attention and interest to the action of keys.
We use SMF(standard MIDI file), so any sound sources that can deal with MIDI will be OK. Naturally, we use piano sounds. The superior sound source will give us really good sound. The sound source specific to the piano should provide us with better sound. Some can prepare various key measures.
Using SMF, it is easy to experience performance on harpsichord by selecting harpsichord sound. More is possible. The pipe organ, the oboe or even orchestra is available. It is fun to use a sampling sound like a human laughing on the second variation.
If we want to sincerely amuse the music, we must choose the right sound source. It is also important to set the level properly. In the near future, "how the sound of the Goldberg Variations played on the cembalo in the waiting room of the Count was resonanting and brought to the ears of Count Keyserlingk in the midnight" can be reproduced virtually.
Standard MIDI file is a common format in order to make it possible to exchange music data freely among different sequencers or sequencer softs. In other words, it does not matter which type of computer you use, namely MAC or WINDOWS machine. This set of data of the Goldberg Variations was, at first, started to be made on my ATARI computer. Afterwards, it was converted into SMF, and now on my Sony Vaio. Those are the most valuable and intellectual tools.
ATARI1040ST
( CPU68000, 1MB, 3.5inch diskdrive ),
MUSIC-STUDIO, SteinbergPRO24 ( after 1989 ),
digital-piano ( after 1987 ), SC88 ( after 1994 )
Then MIDI system was established.
SONY VAIO PCG-862 Notebook computer
( Pentium 2, 233Mhz, 64MB, 4.0GBharddisk, CDROM, software synth, Windows98 )
( upgrade to 28GBharddisk and WindowsMe in 2000, 192MB and 220GBharddisk in 2006 )
in 2008( the seventh generation )
DELL studio 1535 Notebook computer
( Core2Duo 2.10GHz, 4.00GB, 320GBharddisk, DVDROM, software synth, Windows VISTA )
(Additional Comment: Now, in 2024, I have used a Macbook Pro since 2012.).
Clavier-Ubung bestehend in einer Aria mit verschiedenen Veraenderungen vors Clavicimbal mit 2 Manualen. Denen Liebhabern zur Gemuths-Ergetzung verfertiget von Johann Sebastian Bach, Konigl, Pohl. und Churfl. Saechs. Hof-Compositeur, Capellmeister u. Directore Chori Musici in Leipzig. Nurnberg in Verlegung Balthasar Schmids.
Keyboard practice or clavier etude consisting of an Aria with different variations for the harpsichord with two manuals. Prepared for the comfort and enjoyment of music lovers by the Court Composer for the king of Poland and Selected Governor of Saechs, Director of Music in Leipzig von Johann Sebastian Bach. Published by Verlegung Balthasar Schmids in Nurnberg.
Clavier-Ubung
bestehend in einer
A r i a
mit verschiedenen Veraenderungen vors Clavicimbal mit 2 Manualen. Denen Liebhabern zur Gemuths -Ergetzung verfertiget von
Johann Sebastian Bach,
Konigl, Pohl. und Churfl. Saechs. Hof -Compositeur, Capellmeister u. Directore Chori Musici in Leipzig. Nurnberg in Verlegung Balthasar Schmids.
The year of composition
In the Leipzig era, in 1741 or 1742, Bach's matured age.
In the same era, the Well-Tempered Clavier Volume 2 was completed. But this volume No.2 contains works composed some more years before, so they were not completed in a limited term with concentration. Moreover at that time, the "Art of Fugue" was under composition parallelly with the Goldberg. It means more.
The version of scores for the analysis of music
The version by Ralph Kirkpatrick
This scorebook with a note "on September 15th, 1934 in Salzburg" on the cover was translated into Japanese and published by "Zennon", a Japanese publisher. This score contains detailed descriptions and explanations by Ralph Kirkpatrick himself, and of course, the original score with the second score with note ornament's descriptions, "how to play these ornaments actually". So, amateurs can trace the way to the actual performance. Without this scorebook, I could not have imagined how to analyze "the Goldberg" by myself.
The version of Brightcop; the version of Bach's Association
The association which was established in 1850 to publish the works of J.S.Bach is The Bach's Association. It had published 46 volumes until 1900 with the help of a publisher Brightcop & Heltel. This is called "Bach's Complete Works".
Other versions
In ordinary scores for piano lessons, original parts are eliminated, and there are wrong interpretations concerning ornaments as if these were genuine. We must be careful about it.
Scores that resemble the original may have shortcomings because there are only original styles of ornaments. Novices cannot study using these scores because they don't know what ornaments mean.
The original score specifies the cembalo with two manuals. As the score indicates you are going to play, you need a cembalo with two manuals. There are some parts where two hands are physically overlapping. Glenn Gould Played the Goldberg on Video program in 1981. He played piano, but his two hands were moving on the keyboard freely enough as if using two manuals. When a piano is used for performance, some parts are usually transposed one octave higher or lower, or some notes are eliminated.
Naturally, tuning is not specified to be well-tempered. There is no problem in using equal-tempered piano. Other tuning may create a better taste.
There are three variations with G minor, but the aria and other variations are all with G Major. We would like to discuss the reason why Bach chose mainly G Major for this work.
The highest note is 1G, and the lowest is d3. The range of notes is not so wide because this work is for cembalo. And it extends only about four and a half octaves. For your information, R. Schumann's Kreisleriana uses six octaves.
And, because it is originally for the cembalo with two manuals, two hands are overlapping each other in the middle range. Some pianists alter the octave.
For every aria or variation, the score requires repeats, namely AABB. It is not so normal. In the case of the Well-Tempered Clavier, repeats are exceptional.
On the contrary, performers usually don't obey this rule. They choose one of the basic four alternatives, like A-B-, A-BB, AAB-, AABB. The combination depends on each performer's thoughts. As far as I know, it seems uncommon in the classical music world. For your information, [-] of A-B- means the omission of a repeat.
First, let's study Glenn Gould's performance. We can find the big difference between '1955' and '1981' related to the combination of repeats. In 1955, there were 32 A-B-. In other words, there was no repeat. (In 1959's live performance, there were 30 A-B- and 2 AAB-.) In 1981, there were 13 AAB-. So the playing time of 1981 was naturally a little longer. Anyway, there were no A-BB or AABB.
According to the score, there should be several variations in which the first play and the repeated play are different in the 16th bar. these variations are the 2nd, the 4th, the 6th, the 16th and the 25th. In 1955, Gould ignored these cases and played as A-B-. Some notes written by J. S. Bach were surprisingly omitted.
The performances can be varied depending on the arrangement of repeats.
The Aria consists of 32 bars. This number '32' is equal to the number of this total work. The Aria consists of two parts with 16 bars each. Each variation basically consists of the first part with 16 bars and the second part with 16 bars. Exceptionally, the 3rd, the 9th, the 21st and the 30th consist of 16 bars in total, and the 16th consists of the first part with 16 bars and the second part with 32 bars, 48 bars in total.
The basic pattern is the Aria's 3/4 beats. There are 15 of 3/4 beats. 3 of 4/4, 2 of 2/4, 3 of 3/3, 3 of 2/2, 2 of 6/8, 1 of 12/8, 1 of 12/8, 1 of 12/16, 1 of 9/8, 1 of 18/16 and 3/4. In the case of the 26th variation, the lefthand plays 18/16 beats and the righthand plays 3/4. It is very special.
There are nine canons at intervals successively from the unison to the ninth, those at the fourth (the 12th variation) and fifth (the 15th variation) in contrary motion, that at the ninth without any independent third voice, such as accompanies the others.
Canon is a counterpoint method in which one melody is duplicated and strictly followed by its own clone. The first canon means that the follower is at the same height; in other words, it is a unison canon. So, the eighth canon has a follower melody of one octave higher or lower. The composition of canon is a highly sophisticated intellectual work.
For your information, in the year 1974, 14 canons (BWV 1087) based on the chord progression of the Goldberg Variations were discovered in Strasbourg.
Of course, canon is not only of the era of Bach but also the era of Mozart, Beethoven, and Schumann, who often used the canon method. Especially Robert Schumann wanted to get mental stability by studying and practicing canons. Schumann thought, "It is very useful to analyze canons and fugues. It will give us the humanistic and moral strength. The works of Bach are never shrunk or morbid. They were composed to have immortal lives." However, Schumann did not mention much about the Goldberg Variations. He talked frequently about the Well-Tempered Clavier and other works. If he loved the Goldberg Variations much more and Clara played the arias and variations for his husband, I suppose he would not have had such painful days suffering from his mental disease. But in the fantasy novel 'Kreisleriana' by E.T.A. Hoffmann in 1838, a conductor-composer named Johannes Kreisler played a work that might be the Goldberg Variations at its opening. This novel was said to inspire Robert Schumann's piano piece 'Kreisleriana'.
Arnold Schönberg, who is credited with the invention of serialism, or 12-tone music, is known as a master of canon. The 17th and 18th of 'Pierrot Lunaire' are good examples of canon.
The first and most monumental recorded performance was that of Ms. Wanda Landowska in the year 1934. This record was so famous that there was no necessity to have another record of the Goldberg Variations for a long time. In 1955 Glenn Gould said to the CBS Record that he intended to record the Goldberg Variations for his debut album, but one of the executives of CBS opposed this plan, saying, "You don't want to take a goddamned risk to throw away your novice recording pianist career by choosing such an unfavorable, reluctant and intricate work." or "As to the Goldberg Variations, everybody knows that dreadful Wanda Landowska, and she played and recorded with her dreadful harpsichord. Among music freaks, the Goldberg means Landowska."
Who performed the Goldberg? According to the list of CDs that I can get now, in the recording year order, Wanda Landowska, Karl Richter, Gustav Leonhardt, Glenn Gould (re-recording), Ton Koopman, Daniel Barenboim and Mari Kumamoto from Japan recorded the Goldberg Variations. Glenn Gould recorded in Salzburg in 1957. Yerk Demus also recorded, but I don't know when. In addition, Tatiana Nikolayeva and Andrei Gavrilov made recordings.
According to the list of concerts of Glenn Gould, he played the Goldberg Variations for an audience 27 times all over the world (except Japan: He never visited Japan.). The first stage performance of the Goldberg Variations was in Ottawa at the age of 23.
The last and final stage performance of the Goldberg was in Los Angeles in 1961. In those days, people could enjoy the Goldberg by Glenn Gould on stage if they wanted.
Wanda Landowska did the oldest recording of the Goldberg Variations in 1934, as far as I know. The next oldest recording was surprisingly of Glenn Gould in 1955. The third oldest might be Glenn Gould's 1959 live recording, which he intended or not intended, I'm not sure. The next should be Karl Richter's in 1970 after ten years or so passed. After several years passed, Gustav Leonhardt did the recording in 1976. These two great masters made great and characteristic achievements with noble appearances, which will remain in history. After a while in 1981 Glenn Gould did astonishing re-recording.
After that, in 1987 Ton Koopmann, in 1989 Daniel Barenboim. However, the strong influence of Glenn Gould's Goldberg affected the reputation of those recordings down. The recent recording of Miss Mari Kumamoto in 1993 gives us a good and natural impression because she had no rivalry with Gould. Miss Mari Kumamoto worships Glenn Gould and is proud of her experience. She met Gould himself and was given a message from him when she was still a student.
As far as I know, those who played the piano are Glenn Gould, Daniel Barenboim, Tatiana Nikolayeva, Andrei Gavrilov, and Mari Kumamoto. Who played the cembalo are Karl Richter, Gustav Leonhardt, Ton Koopmann, Yerk Demus, Wanda Landowska and additionally Keith Jarrett. The choice of instruments totally depends on performers' intention. Glenn Gould chose his favorite one of many Steinway & Sons pianos (C174) for his debut recording. For re-recording the Goldberg Variations, Gould used a Yamaha secondhanded piano, which he encountered by chance in New York City because his preferably using Steinway & sons (CD318; made in 1945) was damaged during transport, and he could not use it.
Gustav Leonhardt used a cembalo made by William Dought in 1975 based on the Branche model cembalo made in Paris in the 1730s.
Definitely, the duration of Gould's performance of the whole of the Goldberg Variations in 1955 is very short, actually 38 minutes and 17 seconds. However, he played without repeats, so it cannot be compared simply. If Glenn Gould played with repeats for all, namely, not A-B- but AABB, the duration must be doubled. Then it will be 76min 34sec. Daniel Barenboim required 82min 38sec. (Barenboim played the last Aria with A-B-, all others with repeats. So 2min 46sec was added to 79min 52sec as repeat portion of the last Aria.) There is only about 8% difference. Not great? Speed of Performance cannot be calculated only by the length of time.
Speed of Performance
Comparison of two performances by Glenn Gould
About the Aria and some variations, '1955' was faster than '1981'.
Others had almost the same tempo. One or two of '1981' were faster.
Glenn Gould played A-B- only in 1955. In 1981, the number of A-B- is 19 and that of AAB- is 13. There was a great change between 2 versions. In the live performance in 1959, only two variations, the 4th and the 30th, were of AAB-. "How to deal with repeats" depends on each performer.
Karl Richter and Daniel Barenboim played all AABBs except the last Aria's A-B-. Yerk Demus played basically AABB except for the first and last Arias, the 15th, the 21st and the 25th variations, which are of slow tempo. Ton Koopmann strangely played all AAB- except the Aria da Capo's A-B-. Gustav Leonhardt played all A-B- against anticipation that he should have been somehow stubborn. Miss Mari Kumamoto played freely as a whole. She applied a variety of combinations pliantly, and her performance was very attractive.
Wanda Landowska was eccentric. She recorded it in 1934 in the era of SP, so she needed three or four disks for all the variations. And at that time, there was only her recording. There were no other records, so her performance had exactly a great influential power. But there is something strange. She played basically A-B-. I thought that it was necessary for her to shorten the playing time. Suddenly, for the 4th variation, she used AABB. For the next variation, the 5th, she played A-B(A/2) a little surprisingly. A-B(A/2) means that after playing the latter half's 16 bars and succeedingly the first half 8 bars of the first 16 bars. This kind of thing happened on the 7th and 18th. Wanda Landowska seemed to have added her individual touch. I don't think it was reasonable at all because no other performer except her played at that time, and moreover, her record was the only the Goldberg Variations for a long time till 1955.
Sviatoslav Richter went to hear Zuzana Ruzickova's Goldberg Variations on cembalo in 1975 and took note of it. "It was the first experience for me to listen to this great work by Bach on cembalo. I have been to a concert of it by Glenn Gould and listened to his record, too. Someday in the future, I wish I could play it for myself.... if I could go through to the end. This performer, born in Prague, played it sincerely. Thankfully she played all the repeats. (You had better not play it at all if you neglect designated repeats.)*"
In 1972, after listening to the record of Bach's Partitas by Glenn Gould, Richter wrote, "Gould is the greatest performer of Bach." But he added, "He plays a little bit too brilliantly. In other words, his play is somehow superficial. Moreover, he dares not play any repeats. I can not tolerate it*."
After all, Richter never recorded or even played the Goldberg Varitions on any occasion during his life.
(*Bruno Monsaingeon: Richter, Ecrits, Conversations 1998 Editions Van de Velde)
According to these data, there can be many types of performance.
What did Bach and Gould think about the repeats?
There are more or less two ways of playing the Aria, like 'ton -ton -toh -toh -toon' at a regular speed and toon -toon -too -too -tooooon' at a relaxed speed. It can be said that two versions of the Goldberg Variations by Glenn Gould are typical examples of these two ways. 1 min 53sec for '1955'. 3min 5sec for '1981'. There are substantial differences between two Gould's versions in relation to tempo. These two are of course both remarkably splendid. Almost all tempos by other performers are between '1951' and '1981'. The '1981' version by Glenn Gould is as perfect as to be described as 'filled with tension excelling the feeling of comfort or looseness.'
Only comparing the durations of play, 1 min 53 sec of Gould's '1955' is about half of 4 min 16 sec of Mari Kumamoto's '1933'. In the case of Gould's '1955', the Aria will start and end while saying 'Ah'.
fast------------( converted on the basis of 'without repeats' )
----1'53" Glenn Gould '1955'
----2'08" Mari Kumamoto '1993' However AABB requires 4 min 16 sec
----2'17" Wanda Landowska '1934'
----2'39" FujitaSMF '1992'
----3'05" Glenn Gould '1955'
---(4'16") Mari Kumamoto '1993' ( 4 min 16 sec )
About the 25th variation, Gould's '1981' ( 6min 3sec ) was a little shorter in duration and faster than that of '1955' ( 6 min 29 sec ). Later, Gould confessed that he played the 25th variation too sentimentally in 1955, like playing F. Chopin's works.
What on earth can enthusiasts or music lovers of the Goldberg Variations', try to do? With data in the form of SMF ( standard music file ), a new type of performance can be tried on the following topics. This should be called an 'intellectual trial'.
Using the 'copy' and 'delete' functions, you can alter the arrangement freely. It is possible to play two Arias and all Variations in the form of either AABB or A-B- as you like. In some cases, you have to arrange a bit to smooth the connection parts between A and A or B and B. Even Daniel Barenboim, who employed all AABB, was playing with unusual feelings in those connecting parts. Anyway, how to organize the combination of AB, AAB, ABB or AABB, depends on your own choice. The best choice will be achieved by listening actually to every type of combination for every aria or variation as many times as possible. But, it is not sufficient. It is necessary to consider the relationship between the former and the latter tune and the whole music flow. Glenn Gould played the Goldberg Variations only with AB in 1955, which was a genius choice.
Another choice may be imagined, like AA'B. What kind of seasoning can be done as A'. There should be a change of dynamics, attaching a decoration, etc. But it is very difficult to put the inevitability to these seasonings on the course of performance.
Set the tempo each by each for each variation of the Goldberg.
Using computers and digital synthesizers makes it possible to play fast or slow as far as the function allows. It can be possible to play with the fast speed, which no human performer has ever accomplished. You may enjoy its tempo, like from a supernatural virtuoso's performance.
Anyway, we have to listen to it as many times as possible to know the relationship between notes and to feel the resonance note by note. Then, set the tempo.
In order to play very slowly, we can convert all quarter notes to half notes, say, double the length of all notes. We can adjust the tempo much easier. In the case of the Aria, I applied this method to accomplish the slowest tempo.
Faster tempo examples
The fifth variation, the tenth variation, the 18th variation and the 22nd variation have a faster tempo. You may think that the first variation may have a fast tempo. But the Aria's slow tempo makes the first variation's impression a faster one.
Slower tempo examples
The 25th variation is the one with the slowest tempo among arias and all variations of the Goldberg. It can be made much slower if you want. But in the case of slower tempo, it is important to make each note more significant with much energy of the performer. Otherwise, the play means nothing. Gould used 6 min 3 sec. For Fujita, 4 min 27 sec.
Swaying the tempo within one aria or variation
It may be unnecessary to change the tempo in one aria or variation at first. It might be better to set a certain tempo for one aria or each variation, one by one. Of course, Glenn Gould played with ritardando or tempo Rubart, but I think he set the tempo in the strictest way.
Ralph Kirkpatrick said, "In the case of Bach's works, all the details of harmony and/or melody are properly allocated in order to establish the symmetrical relationship against the whole phrases or the whole movement. So if you attempt to add some tempo changes, there would cause some distortion in its musical structure." He compared the sway of tempo to "an earthquake which gives curses to Baroque Architecture with splendid quality."
Actually, when I varied the tempo easily, the performance quality might have been disgraced drastically. Especially in the case of Bach's music, the structure of the work is more important than its superficially emotional movement. So, it might be better for us to keep the tempo stable.
Setting the dynamics ( or velocity ) should be done variation by variation.
Dynamics will be determined not only by the velocity of each note but also by the length of the note and its accumulation. Even though all notes have the same velocity, the dynamics of the work can not be on one level. For example, a harpsichord can create a lively change of dynamics without changing registers by maneuvering length, timing and accumulation. MIDI data here are controlled mainly by giving one particular velocity for each aria or variation.
In the case of piano, the sound character may vary depending on the strength of touching a key, from strong hitting to smooth touching. It is different from the volume up or down of the amplifier. You can experience it by touching your piano keyboard or by listening to the performance of great pianists.
So, setting the dynamics is more important than choosing a certain loudness, such as controlling the amplifier volume. It should determine the characteristics of sound nature. Of course, it depends on the sound source. Anyway, we have to understand the relationship between dynamics and sound character.
Fortunately, our computer can manage to play any tune with a constant velocity. It means that a tune can be played with one character of a certain sound. Then, only changing the velocity creates the characteristic difference between one tune and another.
Originally, the Goldberg was for harpsichord. Harpsichord has registers. Players need to set the registers (or stops) for one tune/part or another. During a tune or a part of it, there won't be any change of registers. In the case of a harpsichord, the sound may not be affected by key touch variations. Kirkpatrick said, "There should not be any change of registers within one variation. If you put some change, you will disturb the stability of the expression and destroy the symmetric structure of the music."
In the end, and for the time being, let's set a constant velocity of one aria or one variation, and avoid the velocity change within one aria or one variation.
But afterward, it can be valuable to study the possibility of utilizing the function of a two-stage keyboard. Like - left hand for one sound and right hand for another.
In Bach's music, "The way how to treat ornaments" is one of the most profound matters. There have been many kinds of interpretations of many documents. My set of MIDI data of the Goldberg Variations was mostly based on the interpretation of Ralph Kirkpatrick's version. However, the performance limitation of my sequencer and the inconvenience of the data input method forced me to make some minor changes. Through listening to the playback many times, I made adjustments that I thought were suitable. Then there would be more differences. I would say it is my version of the Goldberg Variations.
For example, trills could not be translated into MIDI as it is, because the score can not explain how is the human performance over trills. There should be a subtle nuance of rhythmic sense and a balanced combination of left and right hands. I found this was the most difficult part of the translation towards MIDI using the score-to-data method.
As to the trill parts, it was very difficult for me to make computer midi data mechanically because real performers utilize complicated balances of rhythm between the right hand and the left hand. Human performance has a unique sense of rhythm that can not be written on the score. As you may know, this is the most difficult part for step recorders like me.
Modern pianos have heavy keys and loud voices, so the method of trills of Bach's era might be unplayable or unsuitable on acoustics. In that case, we have to change the system of trills, I think. Anyway, we have to listen to the interpretations by pianists like Glenn Gould and/or Miss Mari Kumamoto, and we will find many ways of performing. The way of treating trills may change the quality of music. so it is necessary to be courageous or cautious.
After listening to the sound, return to the previous screen in the browser.
As to Bach's music, there are said to be fewer ornaments in general. However, in the Goldberg Variations, the effects produced by ornaments are indispensable. Aria becomes incredibly beautiful, especially with the best-arranged ornaments. The original score with indications of ornaments seems to be very simple, but it contains affluent musical expressions.
In order to explain various signs and show the better way of performing ornaments", J. S. Bach put the whole list of ornaments in "A Little Lesson Book for Clavier ( 1720 )". Bach's children learnt the technique by this book.
According to the character of your computer system or software, the same consecutive notes are sometimes combined with each other, and then a strange passage comes out. System-side speaking, one note goes on and then off, then the next note goes on. But sometimes there may be confusion between the previous note's off and the next note's on. I was annoyed by this kind of malfunction many times. Now CPU power is high, and many software know about this problem, so you may not encounter it. If you shorten these notes a little, like consecutive quarters of the same height, there will be no problem. The newest programs are supposed to have this kind of function.
In the case of trills, it can be better to make notes a little longer because consecutive notes are not at the same height.
There are two major contributions by using pedals. One is to sustain the sound of a note or notes. When one of your fingers touches and leaves the key, with the pedal pushed, the note will continue. In this respect, we can get the same result by making the note longer as needed. It is easy.
Another is to make all strings of your piano free and make a wide resonance. It isn't easy to simulate manipulating midi data. Pianists are very keen on this effect of pedaling. There is a more complicated technique called half-pedaling. It will control the resonance. Real maestros, like Vladimir Horowitz, can enjoy this method.
The Goldberg Variations do not require pedaling. Many opinions say that it is better not to use pedals for the Goldberg Variations. I had thought that Glenn Gould did not use them at all. But in the 1981 video, Gould's foot touched a pedal several times. Gould said that he used mainly the soft pedal, and usually, he didn't use the sustain pedal. Using the soft pedal means using only one or two steel strings for one key of the piano, so the sound will be a little sharp and clear, he thought.
Midi has the pedal control data, but for us, in the case of the Goldberg Variations, in order to sustain the note, make the note as long as needed.
After the first aria finishes, then the first variation starts and then ends, and the next variation starts..... The interval between one and the next, let's say the length of the silence, is an important factor for performance. Gould's silences or timings are excellent. The time length depends on the characters of the previous part and the next. We have to listen carefully to the silence of performances. However, it is not clear how to determine the time length of silence. If there is one thing, it could be the continuity of the rhythm. Of course, one and the next usually have a different tempo and/or rhythm, but there should be an inner and unseen continuity. Glenn Gould's performance has an inevitable 'space'.
It is rather easy to control this 'space' manipulating MIDI data. The tempo of 'space' could be changed.
The original 'Goldberg Variations' is mainly of G major. I don't think any pianists would try to transpose the whole work to another key. In history, there has been no pianist who has tried it.
Transposing should not be done for this kind of classic masterpiece easily because every key has its own character. Especially, the keyboard works are thought to be the ones that should not transposed in the view of the method of tuning.
Arguments are made about which is the proper tuning method for the keyboard. It is usually said that J. S. Bach used the meantone method for organs. Bach possibly used Andreas Werkmeister's (1645-1706) tuning method for claviers. Goldberg played the Goldberg Variations with a tuning method that was not the same as one of the present days, say, 'the mathematically even 12-tone method'.
Nowadays, we don't have any problem concerning tuning happily or unhappily as far as using ordinary keyboards. It is easy to transpose to any tune. It will create only the height of sound and, as a result, the atmosphere changes. It will not create a resonance problem.
J. S. Bach composed the "Well-Tempered Clavier", so many of you may think that Bach used the same kind of tuning method as the present one we use now. However, Bach considered Meantone and Werkmeister's methods 'well-tempered'. I think it is very difficult for many of us to understand the difference between one and another temperament. So, don't worry about it too much.
Anyway, I will try to explain it a little. Among do,re,mi,fa,so,ra,si,do, there are some combinations whose resonances are pure by nature. Those are octave(do-do), fifth(do-so), major-third(do-mi) and minor-third(ra-do). Octaves can always be tuned perfectly by harmonics. Fifth(do-so), major-third(do-mi) and minor-third(ra-do) are somehow difficult. Those can not be tuned as a whole by affecting each other. If you give priority to those combinations, fa and si go too much nearer to the neighbors. Some chords produce roaring sounds, which caused a nuisance for composers at that time. Then, several tuning methods were invented in order to make tuning results well-tempered, which would make every note sound tolerably so-so. On the contrary, the pure resonances can not exist except octaves, and the characters of key settings like A# Major or B minor would have vanished.
For violins and oboes, tunings are done by the pure tuning method. So purity of resonance can be kept even now. If you try to pursue a real resonance for the Goldberg Variations, you may have to leave this 'mathematically even 12 tone method' and to find another tuning method suitable for the Goldberg. It can be done using a tone generator which has this kind of functions to deal with relocation of cents of tones.
Canons were made with an especially intellectual work. By analyzing the composition of Canons, I would like to study the new way of performance only by cembalo. We can enjoy the interesting aspects of Canons.
Above (1) to (10) are valuable, but the most important thing for us is to listen to the music many times and to make it more intellectual. Count Keyserlingk must have listened to this work played by J. G. Goldberg many times, so we should do so many times as possible.
Again, we returned to the Aria. From here, let's proceed to the realm of sleep once more. Gould said, "The theme (Aria) is not a destiny but a starting point. Variations draw a circle, not a line." While continuing the intellectual challenge, we have to take a rest someday. I simulated a performance -goldslep.mid- which J.G.Goldberg played for Count Keyserlingk at night. This could be the real "Goldberg Variations". This is like " such a soft and somewhat lively character that he might be a little cheered up with the tune played by J.G.Goldberg on cembalo in the adjacent room in his sleepless nights ".
So I remembered that there is an engraved score of the first part of the Aria on Glenn Gould's tombstone in Toronto as though it might say, " Sleep peace in heaven, our Dear Glenn Gould". I would like to think that Gould reached the world of eternal sleep after having struggled with the challenge of the Music of Intellect.
However, Gould denied the relationship between the Goldberg Variations and 'Sleep'. He said, "If this work functioned well as sleeping pills or a lullaby, it was very doubtful that 'Maestro' Goldberg played this work sincerely, which had an agitating context and a bitter taste. "
Furthermore, commentators for CDs of this work always introduce this kind of story like 'It is a work for doze-wishers', and finally throw it as a mere anecdote.
Johann Nikolaus Forkel, a German professor of music, wrote a book called "J. S. Bach's Life, Art and Artworks" as Bach's biography for the first time in history.
Forkel was born in 1749, 7 years after the publication of the Goldberg Variations, one year and a half before Bach passed away. He entered the University of Gettingen, faculty of law. But he preferred music and afterward got the music director position at his university at the age of 30. He could be called a musician rather than a biography writer. He composed an oratorio as a composer and wrote a history of music as a professor of music.
Forkel had been got acquainted with Bach's children, Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. Through these channels, he gathered useful information about J.S.Bach in order to prepare to write his biography in 1802 at 52 of his age.
According to Bach's biography, the "Goldberg Variations" was born as follows;
The birth of this work, which should have been the model for all kinds of variations and, on the contrary, no variations following this model were made by other composers for an obvious reason, owed Count Hermann Carl von Keyserlingk a lot, who was at that time the Russian Envoy to the Court of the Elector of Saxony. Count Keyserlingk visited and stayed in Leipzig several times. He accompanied Johann Gottlieb Theophilus Goldberg, who worked as a clavierist for Count Keyserlingk. The Count asked Bach to give Goldberg lessons again. Count was weak in health and suffered from insomnia. Goldberg was assigned to play the cembalo in order to comfort the Count's temper in the adjacent room as long as the Count was awake at night.
One day, the Count asked Bach to compose a clavier work for him, which would be cheerful and could enlighten his mind. Bach accepted the Count's request because Bach appreciated the Count's support for him, and they were actually close friends in spite of their differences in social status. Bach could not have felt much amusement about variations until that time because he thought that variations were usually boring with always the same chord progression. However, Bach thought that variations would be best fitting to the Count's particular request.
In those days, all Bach's works were the model of art. This work also became the model of variations by his hands, and it was the only one set of variations of this type. The Count called this work 'My variations'. He never got tired of it. When he felt uneasiness at night, he always made Goldberg play it, saying, 'Mr. Goldberg, play one of 'my variations'. For J. S. Bach, it seemed to be the only one occasion when he received such an amount of reward.
The Count sent Bach a goblet filled with gold '100 Louie' coins. However, it will not be sufficient for Bach to have even a 1000 times more reward if we consider the artistic value of this work for the world.
I would comment a little more according to other documents;
In 1741, Bach traveled to Dresden, the capital of the Court of the Elector from Leipzig, where Bach was assigned to work. Dresden was a center city of advanced music movements at that time, and he was carrying the title of the designated Court Composer of Dresden. In Dresden, Bach visited Count Keyserlingk, the Russian Ambassador at that time, to express his thanks because the Count helped Bach get the honorable title. There, Bach met a 14-year-old boy called Johann Gottlieb Theophilus Goldberg, who was recruited from Dantzih for his musical talent at ten or so years old and was employed at the Count's residence. He continued his training in musical skills as a clavierist.
But not only Glenn Gould but also others claimed against this episode, which is widely thought unreliable. Considering the power of the Goldberg Variations, this work is not on the level described as 'gentle and a bit cheerful'. On the contrary, it should be music with sheer vitality, indicating the spirit of Bach's music technique.
And as definite reasons;
a - Goldberg, in 1741 or 1742, was too young (14 or 15 years old) to be given this kind of difficulty and advanced work.
b - The preface of the published score did not indicate this episode of the Count's request. (However, it was known that Bach presented one of the first copies.)
I will examine these reasons and consider if the episode was only a fake.
Yes, I am Johann Gottlieb Theophilus Goldberg.
This should be the first time I have made my portrait in public.
It was synthesized with the morphing method
using Bach's and Young Gould's images.
At first, how about the reason 'a' ?
Johann Gottlieb Theophilus Goldberg was born in 1727 in Dantzih ( now around the northern part of Poland, Gudanisk ) and died in 1756 in Dresden at the very young age of 29. Forkel called him Goldberg of Keenisberg. So, maybe he grew up there. It was in 1731 in Dantzih when Count Keyserlingk first met Goldberg. It was when the Count was 41 years old, and the boy was ten and talented in music. But the Count had to stay in the Dresden Court from 1733 to 1746. So, when he visited Dantzih again in business, he took the boy, Goldberg, to Dresden. Dresden was a center of contemporary music activities at that time. The boy recruited to Dresden should be on a high level. After that, for a while, the boy had an opportunity to learn from Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, the eldest child of J. S. Bach. Bach met Goldberg at 14, and even for a short time, the boy became one of the pupils of J. S. Bach. We can count on his ability to perform a certain level of music. Even though Goldberg was a good performer, he was so young that J. S. Bach would not have dedicated a work.
At the same time, you may think this work is too difficult for a boy who is 14 or 15 years old to play it. How about Glenn Gould? According to the book 'The Life of Glenn Gould' by Ottoh Frederick, Gould had gone through 'the Well-Tempered Clavier Volume 1' at ten years old, and at 14 years old, he held a public performance with the Well-Tempered Clavier's prelude and fugue B flat minor, Partita No.2 etc. Furthermore, at 20, he tried Schoenberg's or Anton von Webern's works.
Goldberg was known as a composer as well as a clavierist. There is a work formerly thought to be composed by J. S. Bach. That is ' Sonata for two Violins and an Accompanying Bass C Major BWV1037/Anh.187 '. Anh.187, named by the Bach Society, indicates the possibility that it belongs to another composer than J. S. Bach. But anyway, it is a remarkably good tune. It belongs to Goldberg, which shows he was a well-known musician then. Forkel commented that Goldberg was a well-trained clavierist with little gifted composing skill. It might be severe for Goldberg to be compared with the Bach family.
What does the name of this work mean? 'The Goldberg Variations' is a popular name which was put some years after the publication of it. The genuine name is 'Clavier-Ubung bestehend in einer Aria mit verschiedenen Veraenderungen vors Clavicimbal mit 2 Manualen. Denen Liebhabern zur Gemuths-Ergetzung verfertiget von Johann Sebastian Bach, Konigl, Pohl. und Churfl. Saechs. Hof-Compositeur, Capellmeister u. Directore Chori Musici in Leipzig. Nurnberg in Verlegung Balthasar Schmids'.
In English, 'Keyboard practice or clavier etude consisting of an Aria with different variations for the cembalo with two manuals. Prepared for the comfort and enjoyment of music lovers by the Court Composer for the king of Poland and Selected Governor of Saechs, Director of Music in Leipzig von Johann Sebastian Bach. Published by Verlegung Balthasar Schmids in Nurnberg'.
It was published as 'Keyboard Practice or Clavier Etude Volume 4'. This work was for keyboard practice in Bach's era. It is difficult to play, but not for a presentation using a supernatural technique. So, I think that Goldberg played well even while he was young.
There is a book, 'The Small Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach ( the Memory of J. S. Bach )', imagined to be written by Anna Magdalena Bach by herself. ( Actually, it is a completely fictional and written by Ester Menel in the early year of 20th century. ) Anyway, it is interesting, so I quote some parts concerning Goldberg.
Johann Sebastian had so many pupils that I could not name all of them. There were gifted ones with superior educational results. Johann Gottlieb Goldberg was among them as a talented and good clavierist. Afterward, he served in the residence of Count Keyserlingk, and Sebastian composed 'an Aria with 30 Variations' for him. This work was for the cembalo with two manuals, and we usually called it 'the Goldberg Variations'. ......
(in other part)
The Count recommended Goldberg to be one of Sebastian's pupils. He became an outstanding performer because he studied clavier day and night and progressed greatly with rhythmical mastery and perfect fingering. 'An Aria with 30 Variations', which Sebastian wrote for him, was the work that could indicate the evidence of technical mastery and which required such a high skill that only a few could have played.
Count Keyserlingk, Forkel pointed out, loved this work very much and called it 'My Variations'. Why wasn't it named as 'the Keyserlingk Variations'? Instead, why was it named after Goldberg? Maybe it's because Goldberg's performance was truly good and reputed widely.
A recent material (in the comment by Mr. S. Narumi for a CD of the Goldberg Variations by Andrei Gavrilov recorded on piano in 1992) said a possibility like 'Bach rewrote a set of variations which consisted of rather easy variations and dedicated it to Count Keyserlingk. And so that Goldberg could play it well. Then official Keyboard practice or clavier etude Volume 4 was the version of enlargements or revisions.' But I think that it is not more than an assumption, and I don't understand how to select which variation is easy or difficult.
Reichsgraf von Hermann Carl Keyserlingk
Yes, I am von Keyserlingk.
Those variations belonged to me.
Before studying reason 'b', I would like to investigate who and what Count Keyserlingk was as far as possible.
Count Keyserlingk was born in 1696 in Kualand, the northern part of Poland near Present Litoania, and died in 1764 in Warsaw. In 1764, Forkel was only 15 years old, so they would not have met each other. From 1733 to 1746, he was in Dresden and from 1746 in Berlin as the Russian Ambassador.
J. S. Bach went to the Dresden Court in 1741 and visited the residence of Count Keyserlingk, who assisted Bach in getting the title of the Court Composer. Even more, the Count successfully arranged a royal meeting of Bach with King Friedrich. Bach treated this kind of support as indispensable.
In 'The Small Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach (the Memory of J. S. Bach)' there is a story like the following;
Count Keyserlingk was a music enthusiast and a man of intellect. He became to be one of the eager worshipers for Sebastian and frequently dropped to our house in Dresden to meet him and listen to his music. . . . . .
. . . This tune was composed for Goldberg upon special request from the Count. It was played by Goldberg in order to comfort his master at some his sleepless nights. The Count was never tired of this tune. Then, the Count gifted Sebastian a beautiful goblet with 100 Louis gold coins. It was wonderful. We were very happy with it.
I think that the style of the tune, 'variations', which Sebastian carefully and sincerely picked out, is truly suitable against insomnia.
Bach did not mention Count Keyserlingk's request at all because, in those days, the dedications were not common to an ambassador from a foreign country, even between close friends. Conversely, J. S. Bach might have dedicated it to the royal family to whom Bach served as the Court Composer at that time. Additionally, this work was for practice.
The record of dedications towards someone revealed the fact that there were only a few dedications.
- Caprichio B flat minor BWV992 for Bach's beloved brother at his departure to Sweden
- Brandenburg Concerto BVW1045-1051 for Brandenburg Ruling Count C. Luidvich aiming new job
- Clavier petit notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach Bach's beloved wife Anna Magdalena
- Partita No.1 BVW825 for Kerten Ruling Count celebrating a new born baby
- Kirie and Gloria of Missa B minor Zaksen Selected Ruling Count aiming a new job
- Musical offering BVW1079 for King of Proizen Friedrich 2 aiming a title of Court Composer
This list indicates that Bach's dedication of his work to someone is anyhow exceptional. In this work, Bach wrote a comment like 'Prepared for the comfort and enjoyment of music lovers'. He did not intend to mention anything about the request from anyone. In conclusion, reason 'b' (The preface of the published score had no indication about this episode of the Count's request.) is not proof that the episode (One day the Count asked Bach to compose a clavier work for him which would be cheerful and could enlighten up his mind. Bach accepted the Count's request) might be a fake. I mean, the episode is valid to a certain extent.
We have been through it with Forkel, Goldberg, Count Keyserlingk, and Bach. Now we know, 'The fact that Goldberg was too young, or there was no indication of dedication, has nothing to do with the validity of the
Count's request to Bach to compose this work.' Despite Gould's denial and critics' negative comments, the episode has a reality.
Prof. M. Isoyama wrote the comment for Karl Richter's CD of the Goldberg Variations in 1972, "I was really surprised at the wide variety of his interpretation and a fresh vividness of performance. After listening to Goldberg's cembalo, Count Keyserlingk would have been relieved from the stress and fallen into a peaceful sleep. Even now, the power of healing or relieving of this work would work for us."
Even though Prof. Isoyama seemed to affirm the relationship between sleep and this work, he would not have agreed that we fell asleep just while listening to the Goldberg Variations. But I want to insist that 'after listening' was false. It should have been 'while listening'. I don't want to say that this work will make us sleepy; instead, it has the power to heal insomnia, and it is the Music of Intellect with which we can cope with the disease of intellect - insomnia.
What kind of insomnia did Count Keyserlingk suffer from? Now, I can't say anything about it. According to one encyclopedia, insomnia is defined as ' By which one can not sleep, especially habitually and chronically. There is insomnia caused by physical diseases like alcoholism or hypertension and insomnia caused by mental diseases. Most of them are from nervous breakdown. In latter case patients can only sleep shallow with a lot of dreams and before dawn fall into deeper sleep.'
Another encyclopedia tells us, ' There are people with insomnia without specific reasons. Some people can not sleep even after the removal of bad causes. Some people are thought by others to be sleeping well but claim that they don't sleep at all. In this case, even though the hindrances are only limited, many claim their insomnias definitely. Being over-conscious about sleep makes sleep difficult, which is the characteristic. They have slept well, but they don't think so. When they get up, they are not satisfied with their own sleep and feel powerless, so they think they haven't slept at all.'
Now we know that insomnia is complicated.
Count Keyserlingk tried to heal his own insomnia with Bach's music. In that sense, I suppose he did not suffer from alcoholism but from the mental stress accumulated as an ambassador.
What kind of work was Count Keyserlingk doing as a Russian Ambassador in the year around 1742?
During the war, Prussia began its rise to power under the Hohenzollern family. Frederick William I created a military state. Frederick's father insisted on a practical military education for his son. The boy preferred music, art, and literature. He rebelled against tobacco, drinking, and hunting, which his father believed were natural pleasures of royalty. The king forbade the prince's tutors to teach him Latin, but he secretly studied it and the classics.
When Frederick was 18 years old, he tried to escape his father's tyranny by running away. Caught before he crossed the border, he was locked in solitary confinement for a time. From a window of his cell, he was forced to watch the execution of his closest friend, who had accompanied him on his flight. After this incident, young Frederick was changed. He became ruthless, crafty, and cynical. He now began training to succeed his father.
In 1740, His son became the king of Prussia as Frederick II the Great. Immediately after he had become king, Frederick acted on his own advice: "Take what you can; you are never wrong unless you are obliged to give it back." He made Prussia a leading power in Europe. After he seized Silesia from Austria in the Seven Years' War, from 1756 to 1763, he annexed part of Poland.
In his few leisure hours, he wrote poetry and history. Once, he invited the French philosopher Voltaire to his Potsdam palace of Sans Souci. The two soon quarreled, however.
During the first half of his rule, Frederick truly made war the "national industry" of his country. His aggressive campaigns transformed Prussia from a minor state into a major power and nearly doubled the country's size by conquest and by diplomacy. Once satisfied with his territorial ambitions, Frederick undertook great public works and encouraged education, industry, and immigration. He established the Berlin Science Academy and admitted the religious liberty of people. But actually, he did not believe in human beings at all. Frederick the Great died in 1786 as Western Europe's last great absolute monarch.
Count Keyserlingk stayed in the Dresden Court as Russian Ambassador from 1733 to 1746, and from 1746, he stayed in Berlin. It means that he had to work hard as an ambassador under severe diplomatic circumstances when Frederick II the Great started an invasion of Poland's present territory. Frederick II the Great was said to be a music lover and a respectable king, but his reign seemed to be another one; in other words, he had another face in diplomacy. So Count Keyserlingk had, I imagine, continuous great stress and many sleepless nights.
How about Russia, the country of Count Keyserlingk in those years ?
Until 1740, there was a reign of terror in Russia.
Empress Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great, made the army arrest Ivan 6th and his regent ( his mother ) with helps from France and Sweden and declared herself empress in 1741. She made many domestic reforms. But afterward, she was against Sweden and Russia captured the east-south part of Finland in 1743.
The future Catherine, Princess Sophie Auguste Friederike of Anhalt-Zerbst, was born at Stettin in the Prussian province of Pomerania ( now Szczecin, Poland ) on May 2, 1729. Early in 1744, when she was almost 15, Sophie was presented to Empress Elizabeth of Russia, who was seeking a wife for her 16-year-old nephew, Grand Duke Peter, heir to the Russian throne.
Sophie was received into the Russian Orthodox Church and rechristened Catherine (Russian, Ekaterina). Peter and Catherine were married in 1745. Peter was an immature, sickly youth who played with toy soldiers, and Catherine was bored and unhappy.
Empress Elizabeth died in December 1761, and Peter became Czar Peter III. His childish behavior and his preference for German ways soon made him unpopular. By accepting Russian customs as her own, Catherine had gained many supporters. At the end of June 1762, the army arrested Peter, and Catherine was declared empress. Peter soon died in a scuffle with his guards.
For years, Catherine had studied the works of French Enlightenment thinkers like Charles de Montesquieu, Denis Diderot, and Voltaire. Her championship of Western culture led to the flourishing of scholarship, book publishing, journalism, architecture, and the theater. Catherine herself wrote articles and plays. She sponsored the first school for girls in Russia and established a system of elementary schools. After the French Revolution, however, she became critical of liberal attitudes.
In the relationship between Germany ( Prussia ) and Russia, there was a confrontation about the inheritance of the Australian Emperor from 1740 to 1748. The duty of the ambassador was surely heavy. Under these diplomatically difficult circumstances, the Count preferred "a tune with a soft and somewhat lively character that he might be a little cheered up with it" than, so-to-speak, a "serious one".
As the remedy for insomnia, at that time, there were mental ones, hypnosis, and autonomy. Listening to music before sleep or light physical exercise is effective for insomnia caused by stress. Anyway, it is a nice idea to heal insomnia by enjoying Bach's tailor-made music from the 18th century, more than 250 years ago.
The Goldberg Variations as a whole can be said to be G major. Exceptionally, the 15th, 21st and 25th are G minor. Why did J. S. Bach choose the G key for the Goldberg Variations? Is there any specific objective? Let's search G major Clavier works by Bach.
- The Well Tempered Clavier Vol.1 and Vol. 2 No. 15 Prelude and Fuge.
Needless to say, the Well Tempered Clavier contains every key tune.
Vol.1 No.15 ( BWV 860 ) has a cheerful prelude and a happy dance fuge.
Vol.2 No.15 ( BWV 884 ) has a light and rhythmical prelude and a fuge with light arpeggio.
- The French Suite No.5 G major ( BWV816 )
Among 6 French Suites, this No.5 is said to be the brightest one.
- The Partita No.5 G major ( BWV829 )
This is also thought to be light and lively.
G major for J. S. Bach seems to be for the words 'light', 'lively', Cheerful' and 'happy'. And then the Goldberg Variations must be the same, as "a tune with a soft and somewhat lively character that he might be a little cheered up with it".
According to Forkel's "J. S. Bach's Life, Art, and Artworks", Bach chose variations upon Count Keyserlingk's request as soon as possible because he thought that the playtime could be freely managed with continuity in spite of the total length of the work and that the form of variations was the best fit anyway.
Why should the playtime be long? Or, why was the form of variations the best fit?
If the playtime is too short, the performance will end before the sleep comes, and after that, a dreadful silence of the night will attack again. Gould's 1955 edition runs only 37 minutes. If one can sleep in these 37 minutes, he or she is never annoyed with insomnia. Before Gould came out, it had been common to play with repeats and more slowly, so I suppose.
Playing Time
Referring to the score and the comments edited by Ralph Kirkpatrick in 1934, I assumed it took 81 minutes to play the whole work by his tempo. It means one hour and 21 minutes. Ralph Kirkpatrick's tempo was not so slow but was of speed with tension. Yerk Demus, Daniel Barenboim, and Karl Richter spent around 80 minutes together. If you need more than one hour to fall into sleep every night, you may have insomnia. But if you could sleep by hearing the Goldberg Variations with a playtime of one hour and 20 minutes, it works as a healer for insomnia.
"Play for me some of my variations." Count Keyserlingk told Goldberg. So, only some parts had been played by Goldberg, depending on Count's mood. When Count could not fall asleep in a short time, Goldberg could play more. There was no dreadful silence of sleepless night.
( reason 2)
We do not know why J. S. Bach did not like very much the form of variations except that of counterpoints. There were only a few works of variations by Bach. Some said that Bach did not like variations because variations were on the same basic chords, and it was not interesting to compose such somehow boring ones.
The theme of variations needs two things. One is melody. The other is the structure of chords.
The theme of the Goldberg Variations is the Aria which is the Saraband of 'the Music Notebook for Anna Magdalena'. The first wife of J. S. Bach, Maria Barbara, died in 1720, and four children were left. He grieved by missing his wife for a while. But he encountered Anna Magdalena and got married again. She became a wonderful wife who supported Sebastian and their family very well and happily. She also had sufficient musical talent as a soprano singer of the Court. Bach presented a musical notebook with clavier works for his beloved wife Anna in 1722 and in 1725. The Aria or saraband written in that notebook of 1725, which was to be the theme of the Goldberg Variations, was basically simple and calm with a lovely and heartfully decorated melody. The Aria alone can be a famous tune among Bach's works. The musical notebook was beautifully covered with the book's name carved. At first, Bach wrote two Partitas in the notebook. After that, Anna added one by one. So, the Aria was added by Anna after the year 1725. Long after 1725.
The structure of the saraband as theme, Gould said, " was with an inevitable assurance and was all the time steady and reliable for being made on the noble groundbass ". These expressions might have been talking about Anna Magdalena herself.
The Aria is wonderful as a melody and for a chord structure. But as melody, all the variations forgot the theme completely. Only the sequence of grand bass is kept in mind in every variation.
When Gould talked about the harmony unified by the sixth sense, this sixth sense could be described by the harmonic structure of this Aria. And this unified harmony has the power of mind stabilizer or healer of insomnia, Bach thought. The Aria, like a mother or a beloved wife, will hold us with rich breasts, and our minds can wander around freely and sometimes actively. At the same time, we feel secure because we know we will return to the Aria as time passes. If we need time for sleep, it is a rich time, not a lonely, meaningless time to fight against insomnia.
Music emerges and vanishes away as time goes by when you are awakened. On the contrary, when you fall asleep or are sleeping, time moves in different ways. Time goes backward. Time accumulates its own fragments. In the case of the Goldberg Variations, the Aria and variations can freely and affluently overlap. The music from our ears and the music in our hearts may change place with each other and may coordinate with each other. So, the variations with the same chord base rather than the melody base are suitable for this try.
Enthusiasts, Glenn Gould and us may unconsciously have excluded the thought 'This work was for sleep' as unhonest one, because it is so wonderful and exciting. It is understandable. I don't intend to blame these enthusiasts at all. Instead, these feelings have given us the new pleasure as the Music of Intellect from the Goldberg Variations.
Even so, why don't you listen to the version which I simulated Goldberg's performance for Count Keyserlingk at that time at his residence -goldslep.mid- or -goldslep.mp3- . All the repeats are AABB. The tempo was set following our mental rhythm. The dynamics were determined based on the relationship of the density of notes. As a result, I got a very much different version from the Goldberg Variations configured as the Music of Intellect.
Which do you like more? It depends on you. Anyway, it can be the version with "such a soft and somewhat lively character that we might be a little cheered up with the tune played by J.G.Goldberg on cembalo in the adjacent room in our sleepless nights ". You can simulate as much as you like. You may be able to experience a fruitful sleep with your Goldberg Variations.@
Bach's expectations and Glenn Gould's recollections@
(This is a fiction.)
Now, we are going to listen to the virtual dialogue between Bach and Gould on the theme of the Goldberg Variations, referring to the structure of its canons. As a whole, this dialogue is a function based on the historical facts. So you may enjoy it.
"I have been thinking about making a new set of variations with some considerable size and volume. Until now, I could not devote myself to the world of variations while making every other kind of music I could imagine. But, I became to have an anticipation that the next set of variations will be one of the most important works of mine, by the performance of a clavierist who has something to do with initials of G."
"Then I made up my mind to use a theme with a starting note of G. And the theme suitable for this aspect has come up. It is a Sarabande, which my wife Anna Magdalena wrote down in her musical notebook. Its starting notes are G3 and G5."
"After a while, when Count Von Keyserlingk happened to visit my house in Leipzig, he asked me to compose a kind of music which can soothe his insomnia. One of the Count's sons was studying at Leipzig University, and the Count came here several times in these two years. For healing his insomnia, variations might have so-so force against it. I decided to finish these variations under development at that time and, after that, present this work to the Count. Johann Gottlieb Goldberg has been an eligible young harpsichordist these days. He is a musician exclusively belonging to the Count. Anyway, Goldberg performs that work, and my expectations will be accomplished."
"Later, I had a chance to hear the rumor that Goldberg was doing an excellent performance of that set of variations not only in the waiting room next to the bedroom for the Count's sleep assistance but also in front of the audience of the Count's intimate friends for enjoyment. It was said that the Count called it 'my variations', but the world came to call it 'the Goldberg Variations'. Anyway, I would allow that that work might be called the 'G's Variations' or 'the Goldberg Variations' in the future.
"And in the near future, I imagine that new talent with the name of initials G. or G.G. will appear on the earth to give the world peace by that set of variations. Then it will be O.K. that it will be called after the name of this new talent."
"Well, by the way, in that Canon all' Unisuono, the Canon leader overlaps the follower. The feeling is meant to be light and easy, and it will lead to a world of peacefulness. Usually, to pile oneself on oneself while being far apart in time may be gloomy, so here I am going to lighten up one's heart."@
"Nobody Knows the reason why I chose the Goldberg Variations as the work for my recording debut. I have never told anything about it. The reason was too simple for me to explain it by pretending to be thoughtful. I should have been ashamed of saying it was an enigma or a secret. Apart from superficial aspects, it has such profound meanings, like the way how the Art of Fuge has principle four notes (B A C H) at the end of its unfinished work."
"I have been supposed to be very talkative for everyone. Actually, I am too conscious to talk about essential matters. I talked only about true things. At the same time, many things have not been told."
"More than thirty years ago, at the moment when I saw the score of the Goldberg Variations for the first time, I screamed in my mind, 'Oh! I found My Variations.' right away. Surprisingly my initials were caved on the first two notes and the last two. Not only starting two notes but also ending two notes are all G. I thought that J. S. Bach had prepared this kind of work especially for me, only for me. It was more than two hundred years before. The way it starts and lasts with the notes G and G should be related with an unknown secrets."
"But according to the documents, the title 'Goldberg' was from a name. John Godlieb Goldberg was one of the private students of J. S. Bach, and this work was named after him as a popular name."
"I felt a moving sense of rivalry toward Goldberg, although he was only a historical existence, nothing more. On the contrary, I could not ignore something similar between him and me. Goldberg seemed to be born in Gudanisk, the northern part of Poland, and I was raised in Toronto, the northern part of Canada. Those places may have some resemblance. He moved to Dresden, the center of musical activities at that time, to be a musician. I made my debut in New York. Accidentally, facial looks might be nearly the same. Unfortunately his portrait was never found, so it is impossible to identify this fact. As far as I know, he died in his 20s. His name has two Gs in initials. His initials are J.G.G., and mine is G.G. Actually, I have ignored my middle name. But it is not the point. My name is Glenn Gould. So G.G. is my initials. Based on these two initials, I should be the due performer for the Goldberg Variations. He was only Jr.G.G. Anyway I am going to make this matter concealed. Ah! if Goldberg was not a name of a person but indicated a gold mine, I could have fully felt satisfied with the history of this work because of its musical richness."
"I wrote, 'If this work made a hit as a lullaby, it is very much suspicious that 'Maestro' Goldberg performed faithfully this sensational and bitter work.' That is somehow exaggerated, but it is what I thought about during my first recording. The sense of rivalry towards Goldberg was so strong. What can I do to be a due performer of this work? This question leads me to the realm of performing artists."
@
"My works seldom put the name after any individual. Especially the publishing of 'The Goldberg' was named a 'Keyboard practice or clavier etude consisting of an Aria with different variations for the harpsichord with two manuals and prepared for the comfort and enjoyment of music lovers by the Court Composer for the king of Poland and Selected Governor of Saechs, Director of Music in Leipzig von Johann Sebastian Bach. Published by Verlegung Balthasar Schmids in Nurnberg'. But it is too long as the name of a clavier work, and it is hard to remember. So, many people are used to calling it 'the Goldberg Variations' nowadays.
Johann Gottlieb Theophilus Goldberg is a very good performer. However, only a few people, including von Hermann Carl Keyserlingk, can listen to his live performance. It is not sufficient for me to obtain this kind of reputation. I didn't dedicate it to Count Keyserlingk personally. Only I gave the first copy as a present. So, more people should look at the score and hear this music. So, I published this score as 'Etudes'. Meanwhile, the second G or G. G. will appear.
"Well, in that 'Canon alla Secunda', a melody, which follows the first one with one bar after, is two whole steps above the original melody. The overlap of melodies will give us a feeling of falling down and down continuously. But not into the dark, deep water, but into the bright outer space. So to speak, in musical space, we will experience zero gravity."
@
"I formally said, 'To tell the truth, I don't want to listen to the Goldberg more frequently than any other music. Maybe the Goldberg is not a work I love to listen to. I feel like having an obligation to hear it.' In other words, this is 'My Variations'; it is not music that I hear, nor music that I should play for someone. When the recording was completed, I felt it best. But after being on sale, I felt incongruity when I heard my performance on record. About things like this, I have never told anyone."
In fact, the sense of 'My Variations' was so strong that there lacked the element of healing. Of course, I could knock down Mr. Gottlieb Goldberg completely. I only enjoyed beating him, so I needed more than the effort to make this work into 'My Variations'. The sales record was wonderful, but it had this kind of fault, so nobody proposed to call this work 'the Glenn Gould Variations'. Bach did not name it 'the Goldberg Variations' by himself, so I suppose he would not have any objection to renaming "the Glenn Gould Variations". Anyway, I myself cannot claim about it.
@
"I have never experienced insomnia. On the contrary, many times, I had to do my work, composition or copying scores all through the night without sleep. This might cause weakness in the eyes. But Anna Magdalena almost always helped me, so this kind of night work was not so bad. And when an inspiration comes to mind at night, I don't want to sleep and sit in front of the keyboard or table to write down scores. While I was playing the clavier at midnight, Anna Magdalena came out of bed, sat beside me and listened to me silently. And soon she fell asleep in the sofa. I almost always sleep well. I have seldom struggled in bed to fall asleep. Of course, some problems concerning my family or work affected me sometimes, causing me to not sleep soon. But those problems were solved, then I could sleep well."
"I talked with Count Keyserlingk and realized his insomnia was serious. Of course, the Count told nothing concrete about diplomacy, his profession. According to the letter from my old friend Geork Herdmann, a Russian diplomat, the political situation in Russia seems to be now critical and changing. Even in Saxen struggle behind-scean might be mind-consuming. As an ambassador, he took great responsibility night and day, so it is not understandable for him to suffer from insomnia."
"That work was not for the measure counter insomnia from the beginning of composition. But accepting the Count's request, I realized that the Aria as the theme was suitable and that the form of variations might be effective. So, I continued composing and completed it. Then I presented it to my dear Count."
"'The variations' which I imagined was not the variations of a theme melody but the variations based on the chord structure as the theme. I have already made many works of variations that used the melody change, so I needed a different approach. Variations on the common base ground should have basic stability, and each variation should know how to return home. It is like an infant is freely dreaming while hearing the sound of the mother's heartbeat. This is different from the characteristic of the ordinary variations, which will diffuse away with a form of spiral. So, it is most suitable for the Count to listen to my new variations for healing his insomnia."
"Well, in that Canon alla Terza , the melody following one bar after, which is contrary to Canon all' Seconda, has the same form but three steps lower. The image of the tune creates a feeling like flying up and away on the warm wind, contrary to the Seconda. This type of Canon following the same direction with a few steps difference can make various movements towards infinite directions by overlapping melodies. I intended non-gravity by Canon all' Seconda and free-flying by this Canon alla Terza." @
"I myself have been suffering from insomnia. But that is not all. There is over-sensitiveness or over-intension towards cleanness which affected me a lot. So I use many kinds of pills. Even in summer, I wear a coat and a muffler. Many people might think I am strange. I don't care too much about those things, like what people think. My worrying trouble is in another place. It is 'the limit'. "
"When I encountered the Goldberg for the first time, I thought that I could understand it as 'My Variations' completely and as a whole. And after that, at 20 or so, I thought I could see everything in piano music. Seeing as a whole is just knowing the limit over which there should exist nothing. The fear of knowing the limit haunted me. I could play any complicated piece of music without preparation. I mean, to look at the score for the first time made it possible to play it for me. That is terrible. This kind of playing technique may be thought to be high-leveled, but it means that I am an automatic piano-playing machine that has all the know-how concerning piano music performing art. By inputting musical scores into me, then I reproduce the sound correctly. That is all. At the same time, I felt there was no way to create new classic music compositions because I had seen everything already in the music world with a limited horizon. There was no need for me to create a new work. So, I decided to concentrate, for a while, on the piano performance itself."
"Enduring the pitiful situations of touring concerts at many places, I was continuously thinking about the Goldberg and about the defects of my performance. Five years after the first recording of the Goldberg, and when I started using the rhythm system of playing, I came to understand that it did not have enough 'Elements of Healing'. The rhythmic system itself can be applied to every tune. Especially the Goldberg might be the most remarkable material for this rhythmic system. But at that time, I could not decide to re-record the Goldberg. It was not because the recording company or management could have objected from the marketing viewpoint, but because I thought the time had not matured yet."@
"It is sure that I presented the first copy of the score of 'the Goldberg' as a countermeasure against his insomnia. But that work, the Goldberg, has an ambivalence. One side is for a countermeasure against insomnia. Another side is for a challenge towards creating a wide range of variety based on one basic chord theme. If a measure against insomnia is the element of 'healing', another element can be said as the element of 'challenge towards intellect'. The true meaning of that work is the fusion of 'sleep' and 'awakening'. Each element intends to give a listener some stability through music. On that base, a listener can freely sleep or challenge the intellect. Not merely diffusing somewhere unknown, the music of that work seeks ease or comfort which is stabilized and free as a nature on the beautiful ground."
"Someday in future, will somebody recognize these things? My pupil, Goldberg, can now play that work properly, handling two aspects, for I instructed him how to deal with it. So, when the Count wants to sleep while hearing it or when he invites people to be entertained by it, Goldberg plays well and gets a reputation. However, Goldberg does not understand the real meaning of the two aspects of it or a mutual relationship. He is still young. At my age, he will be able to understand it."
"Well, on that Canon alla Quarta , not only does the follower begin a perfect 4th lower than the leader, but it moves each of its intervals in the opposite direction: a moto contrario. This Canon, with contrary motion, makes notes move without stability. One moment, the notes diffuse, and another, they overlap intimately. A listener sometimes feels this kind of instability. But, basically, the structure should be on firm ground, so there is a solid quarter note to start the third part. The instability caused by the diffusion of melody affects this third part to move around one place or another. Thinking about these situations, I made the next 13th variation have the power to eliminate the feeling of uneasiness with an upper melody that goes lightly.@
"I don't think my parents had any image or information concerning me and the Goldberg. My family has a root from the family tree of Grieg, a Norwegian composer. The family name 'Gould' is common, and 'Glenn' is popular. My parents did not image 'G. G.' However, I think I have inherited the shy character of the Griegs."
"Let me talk about the occasion when I met the Goldberg for the first time. That was when Prof. Alberto Guerrero, my piano tutor at that time, wondered which piece of music I should practice after the Well-Tempered Clavier. And I happened to encounter the scorebook of this work. So, I asked my teacher what kind of music it was. He said it was somehow a unique etude of variations by J. S. Bach. Bach composed only a few variations. He was not so interested in it. I also was not interested in the topics related to the reason for composing. But I had a complete feeling that I had understood all about the Goldberg when I touched those keys, G3 and G5."
"I heard afterward that Alberto Guerrero often played the Goldberg on the stage. But I had never heard him playing this work either in concert or in lessons. From my first encounter with it, 'the Goldberg' was 'my peculiar variations'. He was going to teach me this way or that way irrelevantly when we started lessons of the Goldberg. Then I was disappointed in him and gave up following him."
"When I was 18 years old, I could play the Goldberg completely at the recording level. I didn't need Gerrelo anymore. He became an obstacle to my music lesson. After getting 19 years old, I started doing everything in my own way."@
"One autumn day, I visited Dresden, the capital city of Saxen. The next day after I arrived at Dresden, I went to the mansion of Count Keyserlingk carrying the first copied score of that work. Passing through the Augustus Bridge over the Elbe River, I could find the Count's mansion, some next to the minister's official residence. About one month earlier, I made J. G. Goldberg come to Leipzig with a faked assignment and then gave him a necessary lesson on that work. It was easy that I would play it for the Count in front of him, but it would result that the Count might have been conscious of the differences in performance between mine and Goldberg's. So, I dared not to play it for the Count. Moreover, the Count would order Goldberg to play it immediately. Goldberg would be given the scorebook, and he could play it at once. Goldberg should perform it suitably, knowing the purpose of this work because I presented it dedicated to Count Keyserlingk, whom I owe greatly. Anyway, the Count was very much pleased with my gift."
"Except for the music box, there is no other way to enjoy the music than going to the church, going to the concert held in Zimmermann's Coffee Shop, going to a salon or playing ourselves. If someone plays for you, you normally cannot select the tune at your disposal. From this point of view, the Count is exceptionally happy to listen to his favorite music, namely that work, whenever and as many times as he wants. This will be a new method of music entertainment."
"It will be wonderful that many people can enjoy music this way in the future. A future G. G. may be able to make this come true. Feeling music directly from the score without any players or instruments will not be a mere dream. I have had many sour experiences, like when the level of performers limits the quality of music. Enthusiastic players are making progress day by day. But I don't want to be in charge of those hopeless pupils of the Divinity School as singers or members of our orchestra."
"That Canon alla Quinta is in G minor, which is different from the previous Canons. And it is a moto contrario, Minor mode, for the first time in the Goldberg Variations, lending a dark and tragic aura. For me, it is a rare case, but I put a specification of "andante" for this variation. This Canon shall be as special as the last of the first half of that work.
The follower begins a perfect 5th higher than the leader with one bar delay, but it moves each interval in the opposite direction. We cannot have comfortableness to enjoy the instability the way different from Canon alla Quarta. In the first two bars, notes are far from each other by 2 octaves, and the melodies try to communicate mutually, overcoming the restriction of a moto contrario. But in the first 16 bars, the movements are overacting downward against upward. So in the last 16 bars, I created, by efforts, a space and time of dreaming and healing together by uniting the deepness and highness through getting over the formal structure of a moto contrario."
"Coming so far this way, I feel sincerely sorry if the Count cannot fall into sleep. If so I planed a cheerful pastime for my Count at the next 16th variation."
@
"I played the Goldberg more than 30 times in concert in Moscow, Berlin, etc. You may think I did it remarkably many times, but think this way: if the audience is 2000 people for one concert, 30 times would be 60,000. In the case of record, 1 million sales would be at least 1 million people have listened to it. If you want 1 million people to attend your concert, you must do your concerts with 2000 audiences five times a year for 100 years. In that sense, concerts are only a pain without results. Moreover, as to this work, the audience will be led to sleep when they really don't want to doze at all. This work has this kind of special power to make people sleepy. It is a contradiction. Of course, I thought that nobody would be willing to sleep while listening to my music at first. This thought has made me sick and forced me to retire from the concert stage. Then, many critics started prying around the reason for my dropout from the concert. It was hard for me to continue world tours, physically and mentally. And I sometimes deliberately said as a message that the concert was dead. In truth, the reason was that my performance of the Goldberg had changed a lot during many concerts. The most remarkable fact was that some of the audience fell into sleep in their seats. I could sense any audience who was going to sleep from the stage. People got to sleep not due to the lack of tension or the looseness but better or the best performance of mine. So to speak, it is a contradict effect."
"The audience did not complain about their sleepiness because the concert was good enough. But it is unusual. And I could not tell them not to sleep in front of me, or never mind if you sleep."
"I never did any concert featuring the Goldberg in Dresden where J. G. Goldberg once lived. I would have declined any offer to do my concert in Dresden. In Berlin, I did. In fact, the Count lived in Berlin for a while. So, Goldberg played this work many times for the Count in Berlin. There, Goldberg played for one person's sleep. And I tried to play for more than 2000 people not to sleep. I don't want to continue these things."
"This Canon alla Quinta contains the supreme moments created by J. S. Bach. This moves my soul and heart profoundly. Listeners will understand that this Canon is one of the top masterpieces full of devotion, but they will not be aware that this variation was composed following the strict rule of five-step difference a moto contrario. Isn't it a great surprise that this artificial rule of Canon with a five-step difference in a moto contrario could bring about such marvelous music even by the hand of J. S. Bach?"
@
"There is a reason why I published this work as a practice book. Now and at that time, this kind of music is not supposed to be performed in front of an audience or many people. I am afraid that so few people can listen to that work without being played by many. At the same time, as I intended, this work is music that can be played well by ordinary music lovers without any extra emotional involvement if they have a so-so technique. But in order to make the genuine meaning of that work, namely the fusion of sleep and awakeness, come true in this world, we need a musical genius. Even then, to whom will he play? Or, who can enjoy his performance?"
"Well, Canon alla Marcia is different from the previous Canon, Canon alla Quinta. It is in a marching style in G Major. The following melody runs after the first one on the six-step difference above with a half-bar delay, and it sounds like an echo of the first melody. There is nothing complicated around here. Canon alla Marcia exhibits its characteristics, which is stable and comfortable, so the work becomes so."
@
"Audio technology has developed extensively. This time, I used the digital stereo recording system for recording this work to make CDs. On the first recording occasion, there was only an analog monophonic system to make LPs and no DOLBY system. These twenty five years have given me a remarkable change. From now on, I can't imagine what a great technological innovation will wait for us. However, at present, I am sure I have sufficient tools for my needs. In the year 1955, fortunately I could make the most use of the new device at that time, which enabled me to get as much takes as to make the recording perfect. In those days, this method was epoch-making. Now, I am very much satisfied with the result and the digital technology I could apply for my recording to CDs. In other words, playing the piano, recording it, and making CDs or LPs have reached the end of perfect technology. Of course, there should be more breakthroughs in the future, but the basic method cannot be altered anymore. Another breakthrough must aim a different target."
"For example, why don't we use two voices, 3 voices or 4 voices? I mean, it might be interesting to record each voice to each channel and to playback this polyphonic music through 4 speakers arranged in four corners of our room. This could be completely different and surrealistic music from the ordinary piano performance. There, listeners should have the responsibility."
@
"Actual performances are indispensable, of course. But without performance or without pianists, how does music exist? I played on many occasions and at many places, and I realized that any music could last after the end of the performance. Sound cannot stay any longer in one place or the world of time. Only people at that place and at that moment can exceptionally listen to the specific music even though they are used to forgetting about it. Of course, my pupils can make performances, but number of pupils are limited. Moreover, my music is now said to be obsolete. Mr. Johann Adolf Scheibe declared that my music was a Waste of Labor. I think that it doesn't matter if my music is old or not. My music is not a fashion. It is substantial. Anyway, people don't care about the meaning of my music. If I publish a scorebook with a sophisticated title, they may say it is out of fashion. So, I usually use ordinary titles like 'for practice'. In this way, I would like to expect that more people would be able to have a chance to listen to my music. For that work, similarly, I put it into the world with a title, 'The fourth part of clavier practices'. Now, I would like to start the trials of moto speculare or moto contrario, which is a manipulation of notes on the score. For the first step, I am engaged in a new Canon based on the first eight bass notes from the aria."
"Well, Canon alla Settima is in G minor. As for that work, there are only two Canons with G minor, Canon alla Quinta and Canon alla Settima. But Canon alla Settima is the type of Canon following the same direction. The follower goes 7 steps above. This Canon is very short. It has only 8 + 8, namely 16 bars. The follower goes with a half-bar delay. It is a dark and calm echo which is different from the light echo of Canon alla Marcia."@
"The performance of classical music, especially solo keyboard music, will be replaced with the performance using a computer without pianists. Bach and Mozart used a clavier or a piano for their composition. They did not find those instruments meaningful to playback already existing pieces of music using them. From now on if a solo piano performance has its own meaning, there should be with a composing or improvisation. It might be an exaggeration, but Bach and Mozart did merely write down their own results of improvisation."
"I am not an enthusiast of the Beatles. But as an example, I would like to talk about their music. They performed their works of the early days on stage many times. But one of their masterpieces, 'A Day In The Life', had only been played by them in the recording session. Then, is there any meaning that someone else plays 'A Day In The Life' faithfully in a way similar to the original recording? Wes Montgomery arranged it differently and played it in his original way, so it has another meaning as another piece of music. Anyway, it is not necessary to have a mere copy if there is the original. We can listen anytime to the original recording."
"As to this work, it became to be "the Glenn Gould Variations" in the year 1981, and there is nothing more for me to do for this work. Conversely, the recording of the Goldberg by Glenn Gould in 1955 was merely the result of a capricious recording by Glenn Gould, nothing more. Anyone will be able to make such a capricious recording of this work only by using a computer."
@
"I think I have to talk about my dear wife, Anna Magdalena, because she had been involved somehow in this work. She, by nature, had a musical talent. Actually, she was a singer with a splendid voice before our marriage. After she was married, she was a wonderful wife and mother to our family in our daily life. Sometimes, she had chances to sing as a professional singer. But usually, she is at home and practices the clavier in her spare time. She manages the household chores for me, our children and my pupils. She loves flowers and fills our garden with flowers. Especially she loves yellow pinks (nadeshiko). The theme aria is based on a piece of Sarabande in a light green music notebook, which I presented to my dear wife in the year 1725. Anna wrote down that Sarabande following the memo of the work, which I had composed a little before. Anna was very fond of it. So I modified it several times. Then, the score became messy. When I said to Anna that I was going to make a work of variations for a present to Count Keyserlingk using this Sarabande as its theme and that I would like to publish it afterward, Anna decided to rewrite it on another page beautifully and threw away the page of the original score with many modifications."
"Count Keyserlingk visited my home time after time. On one of those occasions, the Count asked Anna to play the clavier a little. Anna, at first, hesitated, but she fully understood the Count's kind support for me and his honorable character, so she dared to play one piece of music from her music notebook which she loved the best and which was tender of heart. Now I know that it was that Sarabande."
"Well, Canon alla Ottava has a specific character that is, 8/9 time, the follower is after 2 bars in the same direction and 8 steps below or later 8 steps above. 8 steps means one octave, and it has 2 bar delay, so there is no difficulty. But the long trill at the start of the second part calls an anxiety of an irritated heart. The seemingly bright but anxiously irritated atmosphere of Canon alla Ottava will be taken full care of by the next 25th variation."
@
"The sarabande of the Aria, as the theme of the Goldberg Variations, is constructed on a noble grand bass, which always has a stable chord composition. The Aria solo can be called a distinguished masterpiece. Needless to say, the Variations are a masterpiece among masterpieces. However, some of the variations have different images. For example, the 14th variation can be said to be a makeshift work, and the 25th variation is an adagio filled with melancholy and subjective expressions like Chopin's nocturne with a romantic atmosphere. On the first recording of the Goldberg, I played the 25th variation like a Chopin piano player. In other words, I deliberately decreased the dynamics and altered the temp slightly, which is showy. In the latest recording, I intended to place dignity by agonizing and enduring, which might be thought of as uncanny and less emotional. Moreover, the 30th variation is somehow incoherent as the last variation. This 30th variation is called Quolibet by popular music formula, so it feels more or less misplaced. But throughout the Goldberg Variations, the 30th variation is also splendid and under the whole structure of the work."
"This work, The Goldberg Variations, is thoroughly organized as a state of an absolute monarch or a baroque garden and is full of counterpoint technique and enigma. The possibility of counterpoint method and Canon/fugue makes me stand on the boundary between alchemy of Medieval time and scientific study of the modern age."
@
"Last year (1741) was a good year when Karl Philipe Emanuelle, my son, got the job as a court cembalist of the Imperial Court of Potsdam. At the same time, last year was a sad year when Zimmermann, the owner of a cafe where many times I held concerts in Leipzig. By the way, I usually made trips with my wife, Anna. But when I was going to see my son, Karl Philipe Emanuelle, in Berlin, unusually without accompanying my wife, I got the news that Anna got sick suddenly. Then I quitted the scheduled journey to Berlin and came back in a hurry to my home. When I arrived at my house, she was already fine. I was too much worrying. I thought that there was some constraint for her when I went to see my son of former wife."
"Well, Canon alla Nona has only two parts. Namely, there is no accompanying bass part. So, it becomes simple. For the first part, the following melody starts with one bar delay, nine steps above and in the same direction. For the later part the following melody starts nine steps below. It is a strict Canon, but melodies don't overlap each other. To tell the truth, Canon with nine steps difference doesn't work well as Canon in terms of creation of time and space. In that work, every fourth variation was Canon. For welcoming sleep, nine steps Canon is enough. I can try other Canons on another occasion." @
"I am fifty years old this year. As I thought about and stated before, I am going to quit my career as a pianist. My parents are still alive, which is different from Bach's case. They are healthier than me. Two years ago, I wrote my will, saying that all of my property should go to charitable organizations. Actually, I intended to live a life without a piano until I was 80 years old, so I didn't want to write my will. But after the second recording of the Goldberg, things have changed somehow. I feel I am losing energy from my body. This work may want me to become a martyr. If I played the Goldberg continuously without thinking anything in my younger days and dared to re-recording this work much earlier, I would have died before getting 30 years old like
Johann Gottlieb Goldberg."@
"It was a mere coincidence. When Count Keyserlingk requested me to make a piece of music that would help count for sleep well, I was doing composition with that Sarabande as the theme. It was good luck that the Count liked Sarabande, which Anna played for him. The point of Count's request was anti-insomnia, so I was going to give careful consideration in the course of the later half part composition. One thing was that it would be for sleep and playing at night, so the number of variations had been set to 30 after 30 days of moon tide. Another thing was that as time passed, music would be calmer and deeper. It was done by the 25th variation. So, this variation should not be played sentimentally, but it should be performed with serener and deeper repose. If it doesn't work and the spirit of sleep doesn't appear to him, it is not strategic to keep fighting through the night. For this case, I prepared such story as continuing light variations and finally giving a pastime by the Quodlibet."
"There was a certain reason why I made the 30th variation into Quodlibet, which means a random mixture. The Russian ambassador to the electoral court of Saxony in Dresden, Count Keyserlingk, admired my music kindly for a long time. Six years ago, in the year 1736, the Count made a great effort for me to be designated as the court composer of the electoral court of Saxony. In fact, the Count himself brought me the information of designation. That year, I went to the capital of the electoral court of Saxony, Dresden, and on the 1st of December, I made a memorial performance in order to express my gratitude using a newly made organ by Jilbermann, an organ manufacturer for the Saint Mary Church. Count Keyserlingk was there and later sent me a letter saying that my performance was impressive. So, I visited his mansion to thank him for all the things he made for me. The Count friendlily received my visit, and we talked about our favorite music and many other things. Then we became like old friends. Since then, the Count has stopped by my house when he had business in Leipzig. During these years, his honorable son was studying here at the Leipzig University, so the Count had frequent chances to come to this city. One day, when the Count dropped at my home, the Bach family music party took place. With the Count's presence, my family and friends had unusual hesitation. But as time passed, the usual cheerfulness came back finally. So not only serious music but also funny and popular songs in the street were played and sung. For the Count, it was a peculiar experience. Among many songs, one girl ; "I've not been with you for so long. Come closer, closer, closer."
and "Beets and spinach ;
"Beets and spinach drove me far away. Had my mother cooked some meat, then I'd have strayed much longer."
made him amused. So I memorized it. On that day, no one made any Quodlibets using these two songs. But many other Quodlibets had been made and enjoyed. The Count said to me later that there were lots of funny songs like Quodlibet. Then I decided to make a new Quodlibet based on these two songs."
"Well, do you imagine why I didn't assign the Canon with the ten-step difference in place of that Quodlibet? In terms of number, the 30th variation should have been the Canon with the ten-step difference. The reason was that, as I said about the Canon with the nine-step difference, the Canon with the ten-step difference would not be suitable for the purpose of that work, I mean 'for sleep'. A Canon with the ten-step difference can be easily obtained by modifying a Canon with the three-step difference adding one octave high or low to the following melody. But melodies cannot collaborate to make harmony. There will not be any creation of zero gravity in sound space.
Then, the 30th variation was to be a Quodlibet, a mixture of Canon or something different. Even so, the first four bars were on the Canon formula. At first, the eight-step difference, then the five-step difference.
Frankly speaking, the 30th variation is not a Canon, but there are several tricks put together. Especially the melody 'Beets and spinach' was used eight times in total 16 bars of the 30th variation. The original level is five steps above; the same level, nine steps above; two steps above, two steps below, three steps above, and four steps below. This melody doesn't show up only in three bars out of 16 bars.
In the 7th bar and the 8th bar of the first part of this variation and also of the last part, a rotatable counterpart technique was incorporated. As a whole, there are four parts of melody. Then the upper part and the second lower part change each other."
@
"'Healing' can be generated from the 30th variation. A listener or a performer can expect the Aria da Capo coming next to the Quodlibet, a very popular type of music. And listening to and playing the Quodlibet, people can feel liberation from their confined hearts like uncovering multilayered shells one by one."
"This is a great 'healing' for me. In these fifty years, I have always been by the piano and have never been away from it. It has been a great pleasure for me to be with the piano, to play it or to be able to play it. But there has been a limit that I could never overcome. If J. S. Bach were alive now, he would compose and play splendidly whatever instruments, piano, cembalo, etc., as he liked and make his CDs. In that case, what is the meaning of Glenn Gould's performance? This is a heavy and annoying question for me. Anyway, while playing the 30th variation, I don't know why, but I feel free from that burden."
"Actually, J. S. Bach is a historical existence. What we have now are only his scores. So, I intended to create an original work performed by Glenn Gould and composed by J. S. Bach. That should be the only reason for my existence, so I thought. This consciousness might make me hum unconsciously while playing. This humming was surely Gould's original. From this point of view, many concert appearances would reduce this kind of originality. I have stayed out of stages since 1964. I should be careful to avoid being an automatic piano-playing machine following programmed codes. If I were a violinist, a flutist or a singer, I would be more cheerful without annoying how to separate composer and performer."
"A musical work as an art should be proper when the score and its performance are integrated into one thing. In the case of the Goldberg Variations, the condition was perfect. Because it is 'the variations composed by Bach and performed by Goldberg'. Now it should be 'the variations composed by Bach and performed by Glenn Gould'. So, it should be 'the Glenn Gould Variations'. I want people to think this way. Otherwise, 'the GouldBlend Variations' or 'the GouldBrag Variations' might be better."
@
"Johann Gottlieb Goldberg is one of the finest pupils of mine, and he can play very well. So, I don't mind that that work was named after him. But I think the name is not good for the name of a musical work. Goldberg means a gold mine. Then we call it 'the Gold Mine Variations' full of gold bars. In fact, the Count gave me a cup full of gold coins as a reward for that work made for him. For my family, that work is a mountain of gold, namely, 'the Goldberg'. Canons of that work have a secret power to develop themselves more like musical alchemy. But the image of gold is not fit for that work. I am afraid that the name would affect people in the future to have a wrong golden gorgeous image. I don't want people to play that work too quietly because it was anti-insomnia for the Count. As I put down a comment on the title of that work, 'prepared for the comfort and enjoyment of music lovers', I think that the most suitable way of performing that work is to play it gently and somehow a little cheerfully. By the way, how about another name? For example, let's name it 'the Keyserlingk Variations' after Count Von Keyserlingk. I imagine that 'Keyserlingk' may be linked to 'Caesar' link. Then it goes to 'the Caesar-link Variations'. It is too exaggerated, isn't it? In fact, there is no need to put an alias like ' the So-so variations'. If necessary, how about 'the GleitchenGold Variations'. This GleitchenGold means 'the same value as gold'. Anyway, I expect that that work shall be named after a performer with his or her initials is G and G. someday in the future."
@
Well, the dialogue between two has come to an end.
Bach anticipated and Gould expected to make "these variations" or "those variations" into "the Glenn Gould Variations". So,
let's rename it.
Ralph Kirkpatrick ( harpsichord ) Music&Arts CD-976 ( 4-CD set ) ( 43:36 ) 1952 ( 1997 )
(Comments by mocfujita ; I did not expect to be able to listen to this performance by Ralph Kirkpatrick until October 1997. And I was surprised at the value of the performance. Many of us, including me, considered him a professor or researcher, not a performer. He did a great job of editing scores and analyzing the music. But in my opinion, Ralph Kirkpatrick was better than Wanda Landowska as a harpsichord player for the Goldberg Variations. Glenn Gould did not mention this at all. I don't know why.
However, this recording was not only for the Goldberg Variations but also for all four practices for Clavier by Bach. I think he did not intend to give a worldwide publication to the Goldberg Variations. Anyway, this CD was made by digitizing the master tapes ( Ampex 402B ; 38 cm/sec ) of 1952 in 1996. Wows have been eliminated. Noises have been removed. It is like a newly recorded CD. As to the performance, there is no repeat, so all are A-B-. It is not a virtuoso type, but clear and beautiful.
- The 1952 Haydn Society recording; performed on a Chickering / Dolmetsch harpsichord; Historic mono. - )
( Comment by mocfujita ; Surprisingly, there was a record of Gould's performance of the Goldberg Variations in 1954 ( before 1955 ) in the Canadian National Library. And now we can listen to it. This is the fourth publication of Gould's Goldberg. Gould did not intend to make a CD by this recording. But we can have it as a valuable asset or enjoy it for entertainment.
This performance was broadcast from his recital one year before the shocking debut of Glenn Gould with Goldberg Variations in 1955. Anyway, the sound is good enough to enjoy it with the present high technology.
Are there any differences between 1954 and 1955 ( the debut )?
Live performance was perfect without his moaning voices. There was only one repeat in the first part of the final aria. As a whole, this was on the way to the next perfection.)
( Comment by mocfujita ; This is the shocking debut record. It is even now the best selling classic record ( CD ). You can always find this CD at your neighbor's CD shop. The first record jacket ( cover ) was remarkable. I would like to have the same cover once again.
Glenn Gould ( piano ) Sony SRCR-9500 ( 37'07" ) 1959 ( Salzburg Live )
( Comment by Richter: You should not give wrong impressions to listeners by changing musical incidents inside the work deliberately. Let's assume that there is a Bach's work which consists of three parts A, B and C. In order to maintain the specific Bach's structure, each part has to have its own specific character. If you put too much coloring to a part, the contrast among three parts will fade away, and listeners can not understand by how many parts the work is constructed. But in order to describe A part as A itself and with one specific color, the performer has to have a breath that supports this effort. The breath can not be obtained in a short time. It takes many years for a performer to master the tempo specific to the work. )
( Comment by mocfujita ; The sound is too gorgeous to sleep. )
( Comment by Demus ;Bach composed the most artistic variations for the keyboard, which needs the highest technique )
( Comment by mocfujita ; There was a lot of tempo rubato. Velocity was set in various ways.)
Gustav Leonhardt ( harpsichord ) German HarmoniaMundi BVCD5022 ( 47'23" ) 1970?
Christiane Jaccottet ( harpsichord ) INT INT820.539 1981
Glenn Gould ( piano ) CBS sony 22DC5543 ( 51'18" ) 1981
( Comment by mocfujita ; It is the greatest performance of the Goldberg Variations, which will live forever. Gould passed away after giving us this performance. Look at him on the CD cover. He had an atmosphere of agony or being exhausted sitting down on a chair. But there is no sign of darkness or pain in his performance. It is the one which I would like to listen to throughout my life. Thank you, Glenn Gould. )
( Comment by Koopman ; I intended not to make people sleep but to give them new surprises. )
( Comment by mocfujita ; I don't think there are new surprises. I don't think there is no tranquility to make us sleep. )
Daniel Barenboim ( piano ) Elart WPCC3256/7 ( 80'35" ) 1989
( Comment by Barenboim ; I studied the Goldberg Variations for more than 25 years. And now ( in 1989 ), I have come to the point where I can faintly understand the interpretation's meaning. )
( Comment by mocfujita ; The sound is good enough as a live recording. Trills are fine. But partially it is good and 80 minutes is too long. )
Keith Jarrett ( harpsichord ) ECM1395 ( 61'40" ) 1989
Andrei Gavrilov ( piano ) Gramophone POCG1708 ( 74'21" ) 1992
( Comment by mocfujita ; Gavrilov was born in 1955 in Moscow. At 18 years old, he won the first prize in the Tchaikovsky Competition. He played all repeats, AABB. It is like in a factory. At the 15th variation, he displayed his talent as the Tchaikovsky Competition winner. He might have tried to make sounds of cembalo by piano. At the 25th variation, he played sentimentally as requested, but it was too long, say 11 minutes, to listen more. )
Mari Kumamoto ( piano ) King KICC110 ( 53'11" ) 1993
( Comment by Miss Mari Kumamoto ; More than a dozen years ago, Glenn Gould said to me, ' You're the only one capable of judging your own talent and potential.
You have to believe in yourself.'
Now, I think in retrospect that perhaps I owe my career as a pianist to his words of encouragement.
I believe that, in this recording, I have succeeded in translating 28 years of my history into music, in all honesty, and the best of my ability. )
The Score J.S.Bach the Goldberg Variations
edited and annotated by Ralph Kirkpatrick ( 1934 )
Glenn Gould Writings Vol.1 and Vol.2
edited by Tim Page? ( 1990 )
The thesis by Gould about the Goldberg Variations is interesting and important. This was for the annotation of his own LP of 1955. And one about the art of fuge tells us his strong devotion to the method of counterpoint.
GLENN GOULD : A LIFE AND VARIATIONS
by Otto Friedrich 1989
Gould expressed his thought about both two versions of 1955 and 1981.
J.S.Bach's Clavier Works
written by Hermann Kellar?
Tuning of cembalo - Revive the sonido of Bach -
written by Helbert Antre Kernar? ( 1990 )
Seminar of Sound Technology No.3 Architectural Sound
written by I. Nagata ( 1988 )
The Great Study about Glenn Gould
edited in Japan
Talk about Bach 2 - About new recording
There is a dialog between Glenn Gould and Tim Page?. It is very interesting.
The small chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach
(Die kleine Chronik der Anna Magdalena Bach )
It is fun to read it. But nobody has referred it as a genuine record about J. S. Bach. I have wondered if it was a fiction or not. The fact was that someone with the name of Ester Menel(?) wrote it without any comment, which told it was a fiction in the early 20th century. However, it has a lot of reality because the story was based on the content of the Study of Bach written by Prof. Shupita(?).
Many people think even now that it was written by Anna Magdalena by herself. It is interesting enough to read as a fiction. So it should be clearly stated that it was written by someone not Anna.
In 1967, a movie was made based on this book by Jan Mari Strauv? as the small chronicle of Anna Magdalena. I haven't seen it yet.
Klavierbuchlein fur Anna Magdalena Bach
Barenreiter-Verlag Kassel ( 1959 )
The Musical Notebook reproduced as original. The cover is very pretty with a light green color and in-printed Anna's name and 1725. It must be one of the most valuable presents from a husband to his wife in the world. And in it there is the Aria for the Goldberg Variations as No.26.
The Life of Bach by graphics and testimonies
written and edited by Michael Kolt? and Shutephan Koolmann? ( 1990 )
The Bach Encyclopedia in Japanese
edited by Prof. Ichiro Sumikura ( 1993 )
The Glenn Gould Variations
edited by John Maglievie? ( 1986 )
The editor had no intension to alter the name of the Goldberg Variations.
The Great Composer Bach
written by Martin Geck? ( 1955 )
Glenn Gould / The Goldberg Variations ( 1981 )
Glenn Gould Collections Sony SRVM1103 ( Video )
The Video record of the whole performance of the Goldberg Variations in 1981
The Dialog with Glenn Gould
written by Johnasan Kont? ( 1990 )
The record of telephone conversations of 6 hours in 1974
On the Record Off the Record - Young Gould - ( 1959 )
Philips ( 1989 ) Video
As a fan of Glenn Gould it must be seen.
How did he select a certain piano for his recording ? How did he spend his days at his home in Toronto and practise his piano ? Interviews. How did he do his recording in the Colombia Studio ? An example was the Italian Concerto by Bach.
Fuge
written by Marsel Bich? and Jann Bonfis? ( 1981 ) in France?
There is a complete explanation about counterpoints and canons.
The Tecnique of Using Piano Pedals?
written by Jossef Panovitz? ( 1989 )
It has very useful information about how to make the computer play piano music. Pedaling has a profound meaning in resonance.
GLENN GOULD SELECTED LETTERS
Edited and compiled by John P.L.Roberts and Ghyslaine Guertin
Oxford University Press 1992
Among the letters of Glenn Gould there was one which was to Miss Kimiko Nakayama of Dusseldorf, Germany ( November 12,1972 ). I don't know if she is Japanese or not. Anyway I am envious of it.
" Dear Miss Kimiko Nakayama
Thank you very much for your letter of September 26, which was forwarded to me, and particularly for your very kind and interesting comments...........
and I do believe that this instrumental indifference plays an important part in helping us to achieve sufficient freedom so as to articulate our perhaps quite specialized views of his music without embarrassment..........."
Bach: THE GOLDBERG VARIATIONS
written by Peter Williams
CAMBRIDGE MUSIC HANDBOOKS, Cambridge University Press 2001, 112 pages
Professor Williams wrote on the 95th page of his book,
"In public, Schumann and his wife were more likely to play piano transcriptions of chorales than anything in Clavierrubung, which he seems to have regarded as 'exercises' or etude in the usual sense at the time, perhaps misled by the title."
I suposse, "If Robert Schumann had found out the meaning of the Goldberg Variations as 'a healing power', he would not have been in such a great agony as he was suffered from his mental disease in his later years."
Anyway, "In the course of the book he poses a number of key questions. Why should such a work be written? Dose the work have both a conceptual and a perceptual shape? .....", which is from the back page comment. I also want to get the answer.
, then music will start.)
Glenn Gould
J. S. Bach's expectations (Feb 1742) 
Klavierbuchlein fur Anna Magdalena Bach
