Goldberg Variations - Part 2
Next up is a harpsichord recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations. I blogged a bit on them in my last post.
To my surprise, I found that the harpsichord version is more soothing. I can easily imagine someone whiling away their insomniac hours listening to these. This isn't meant as a put-down of Gould's interpretation; it's just I find, in this case (and it isn't the usual case), the harpsichord more relaxing.
Part of that comes from understanding the music and its structure. Without that, it's just a stream of keyboard music.
The version I heard is from Forces of Virtue Records, a recording by David Schrader. Forces of Virtue appears to be a small label that specializes in early and experimental music.
As I said, I'm not generally a fan of the harpsichord, but I really do like this CD. After hearing Gould's two interpretations (fast in 1955 and slower and 1981), I find that Schrader takes the middle ground in tempo, which I feel must be closer to what Bach intended. Since Gould's recordings are considered standard for collectors, I think that Schrader's version should also be included, to round out interpretations of these variations.
To my surprise, I found that the harpsichord version is more soothing. I can easily imagine someone whiling away their insomniac hours listening to these. This isn't meant as a put-down of Gould's interpretation; it's just I find, in this case (and it isn't the usual case), the harpsichord more relaxing.
Part of that comes from understanding the music and its structure. Without that, it's just a stream of keyboard music.
The version I heard is from Forces of Virtue Records, a recording by David Schrader. Forces of Virtue appears to be a small label that specializes in early and experimental music.
As I said, I'm not generally a fan of the harpsichord, but I really do like this CD. After hearing Gould's two interpretations (fast in 1955 and slower and 1981), I find that Schrader takes the middle ground in tempo, which I feel must be closer to what Bach intended. Since Gould's recordings are considered standard for collectors, I think that Schrader's version should also be included, to round out interpretations of these variations.
posted by Unknown | 11:48 AM
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