If you’re like Berlioz, though, and don’t play the piano, but do play the guitar, there’s a version for you. Finch for harp) – Aria (Catrin Finch, harp) On the other hand, more idiomatic harp ornamentation can be substituted. The arrangement for harp is not unlike the original for the harpsichord but the ornamentation is a bit more difficult. for accordion) – Aria (Denis Patković, accordion) It’s an interesting take on the work, though, almost a mediation on the Aria. Still want to play it on a keyboard, but all you have to hand is an accordion? Then you can take advantage of the fact that you can keep a drone running in the bass while your other hand does the melodic motions. Canone alla Seconda (Hansjörg Albrecht, organ) The temptation to throw all the resources of an organ into the work might be self-defeating if you’re trying to get someone to sleep….sleeeep….sleeeeeep. Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 – Aria (Wilhelm Kempff, piano)Īn arrangement for organ presumes that somewhere about your bedroom (or in the bedroom’s antechamber), you have an organ that might be pressed into service for your sleepless night.
(Glenn Gould, piano) (1955)Īnother interesting version of this is the one performed by Wilhelm Kempff removing all ornamentation.
Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 – Variatio 6. The most obvious first arrangement is for the piano, which has a greater dynamic range than the plucked harpsichord. Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 – Aria (Christine Schornsheim, harpsichord)īut what if you don’t happen to have a harpsichord around? What then? Luckily, we found the Goldberg Variations in arrangements for any number of groups with any number of players. The Aria that all the Variations are based on has its own deliberate opening, with just the right amount of movement and just the right amount of lyricism to fade into the background as you fall into sleep. We were thinking that the Variations would be perfect for all our pandemic insomnia. Written, as related by Bach’s biographer Johann Forkel, for the ill and often sleepless Count Kaiserling, who wished for some night music that was both smooth and lively enough to engage his attention during his insomniac periods, Bach produced his variation set for the Count and it was published in 1741. 30, recorded by Tafelmusik musicians in their homes in April 2020.© We were thinking about Bach’s Goldberg Variations the other evening. Want a teaser of what to expect? Enjoy this video of Elisa Citterio's arrangements of Variations no. Johann Sebastian Bach Goldberg Variations (world premiere of a new transcription for orchestra by Elisa Citterio) Grégoire Jeay The Phantom of Goldberg (harpsichord solo) Single ticket access for this concert will be made available on May 12, 2022. Sure to be a highlight of the 2021/22 season, this extraordinary program opens with a solo work for harpsichord by Canadian composer Grégoire Jeay, performed by Tafelmusik’s Charlotte Nediger.ĭigital Season Passes are available now! Don’t wait for tickets to go on sale, buy a pass today and gain access to all current releases and more. Elisa first envisioned the new arrangement in 2017, when Tafelmusik performed orchestral transcriptions of two excerpts of The Goldberg Variations during a tour of its multimedia program J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations was written as an exercise in keyboard virtuosity and remains among the most technically demanding works ever written for harpsichord. Inspired by Bach’s practice of reworking his music, Elisa Citterio offers her own musical translation of the composer’s timeless keyboard masterpiece in this new arrangement for strings, winds, and continuo. Join us for the world premiere of Bach’s Goldberg Variations in a new orchestral arrangement by Music Director Elisa Citterio Elisa Citterio director and orchestral arrangement