Darren WirthOctober 9, 2006

J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations

What we refer to today as Bach’s Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, was written

between 1739 and 1740. It was published and on sale by 1741. Although this work,

titled “Keyboard Practice, consisting of an Aria with diverse variations for the

harpsichord with 2 manuals,” contains no dedication to Johann Goldberg, there is a

generally accepted story (maybe myth?) that Bach composed these variations for

Goldberg to play for the sleepless Count Keyserlingk of Dresden. And even though

neither the title page nor Bach’s obituary explicitly calls these variations part IV of

Clavierübung, the Bach Society edition grouped it with the three previously-published

volumes in 1853. The original title page does bear a subtitle virtually identical to that of

the other three books, “prepared for the soul’s delight of music-lovers.” Since then it has

become customary to refer to the work as Clavierübung IV.

The melodious and highly-ornamented sarabande-like aria first appears as No. 25

in the Anna Magdalena Notebook (1725) and may not have been composed by Bach at

all. This “theme” does not lend itself to the type of variations that became popular after

Bach’s time. Rather than varying the melody of the aria, each variation is essentially a

passacaglia or chaconne; the bass line of the opening aria is used as a template for each

successive piece. This ground bass, which gives way to harmony, is, in essence, present

throughout the entire work.

This type of variations shows Bach’s writing at its best. Each variation is diverse,

fresh, and exciting; at the same time, Bach stays within the framework of the original aria

and bound to the “chains” of the aria’s bass line. Each of the thirty-one different

movements has the same number of measures and the same harmonic progression. All

are in the same key (G major) except for three (G minor).

Variation 14, upon first listen, or even glance, looks nothing like the supposedly

related aria. Obviously similar is the key signature and the time signature. With further

investigation, one finds that it is one of the most differing variations of all. The mood is

light, the tempo fleeting, and there is almost no melody to speak of in this completely

two-part polyphonic texture – all completely opposite of the aria. However, the bass line

(at least in the opening measures), is not obscured in any way. The lowest sounding

notes of the first three bars are G, F-sharp, and E – just as in the opening of the aria, and

just what we expect. Bach’s use of a slur (very rare in his keyboard works) in the right

hand part of the third measure (we see this also in the left hand in m. 19) signifies these

few notes’ importance as a melody struggling to be heard, but which is ultimately buried

by much other activity.

The next five measures follow the expected one-harmony-per-bar idea established

in the aria: D major (with a seventh), G major, A minor, D major, and finally G major.

These first eight bars are motivically and texturally divided into two groups of four bars

each. Mm. 1-4 are marked by jumping (hand-crossing) and long, trilled notes in the right

hand while the left hand plays continuous sixteenth notes. For the next four measures

(mm. 5-8), the hands stay crossed. The right hand plays eighth notes to the left hand’s

still-continuing sixteenths. The next four measures (mm. 9-12) employ a “criss-cross”

(continuous hand-over-hand) pattern descending both keyboards. The final four

measures of this first section (mm. 13-16) use hand-crossing and imitation. Mm. 9-11,

like mm. 1-3, use the exact, descending bass notes from the template: G, F-sharp, and E.

The rest of the measures, as before, follow the harmonic plan previously established: A

major, D major, G major, A major (with a seventh), and D major. When discussing the

Goldberg, and particularly other variations similar to this one in its “jumpiness,” hand

crossing, trills, and quick shifts of texture and register, it is important to note that

Domenico Scarlatti’s first book of harpsichord pieces, Essercizi, was published only a

few years earlier in London in 1738. Although it is not known for sure, it cannot be out

of the question that this piece was a response to, or maybe even an imitation of, the

typical Scarlattian style.

What follows in the second half of no. 14 is almost the same as the first half, but

the hands are switched. In other words, the figurations the right hand played in mm. 1-16

the left hand now plays, and vice versa. This time, the “criss-cross” pattern (mm. 25-28)

goes up the keyboards. The main difference this time around is the harmony. It starts in

D major, and works its way, through a formally important E minor cadence at m. 24,

back to the tonic of G major – all the while following the harmonic implications given by

the aria’s bass line. The general wild character of this variation may refute the Goldberg

story, as the music is not very soporific. Not only is it exciting to listen to, it is also fun

to watch, something that is lacking from the vast majority of Bach’s keyboard works.

Variation no. 19 has a generally calm character despite the constantly moving

sixteenth notes. Its three-voice invertible counterpoint is reminiscent of the three-part

inventions. Most material for the piece is present in the opening bar: the syncopated

repeated notes in the upper voice, the sixteenth notes in the middle voice, and the octave

in the lower voice. As the bottom voice descends according to the aria’s template, the

upper two voices (played by the right hand) are inverted starting in m. 5. Now the

sixteenth notes are in the top voice and the syncopated figure in the middle. The

repeating, syncopated D in the upper voice starting at the beginning is tonicized on the

downbeat of m. 4. This tonicization is due partly to the very repetition of the note, but is

also enhanced by the addition of a leading tone in the previous bar. This process is

repeated when the upper voices invert, starting in m. 5. This time, the repeating note is

G. In bars 7-8 the lower voice starts “warming up” with sixteenth notes before properly

taking over the sixteenth motive in m. 9. At this point the upper voice again has the

motive it opened with. However, this time the repeated note is replaced with an octave,

and instead of continuing to repeat the same note, it begins to descend. The characteristic

syncopation of this motive (which affords suspensions on successive downbeats) is still

present. The middle voice has new counterpoint starting in m. 9 but concludes the first

section with an almost-expected suspension.

The second section starts similarly to the first, except the right hand motives are

switched. As expected, these two parts switch again after the first four measures of the

second section (in m. 21). Now, the syncopated E’s in the top voice are tonicized in m.

24. The next four measures (mm. 25-28) serve as an episodic transition to the final four

bars. The principle motivic material is clear in these last four measures, although the

opening octaves have been “replaced” with other intervals. All the repeated notes and the

continuous motion contribute to the overall feeling of contentedness in this variation.

Variation no. 25 is one of the three variations in G minor. This variation is the

most chromatically expressive moments in the work. Even though the bass line is, at

times (such as mm. 1-4), entirely chromatic, it still follows the general template and

shape of the aria. Bach manages to make the bass line and inner voices, as chromatic as

they are, interestingly independent, although they also work together to form a solid

accompaniment. The melody itself is extremely chromatic as well, especially in mm. 9-

11. And even as a D major cadence approaches toward the end of the first half, there are

still many E-flats marring this arrival. Notice the cross relation in m. 14 between the

middle voice (E) and the melody (E-flat). A particularly poignant moment comes fairly

soon in the variation, on the second beat of the second measure. A surprise A-flat,

approached from a minor sixth below, confirms the dark, tortured character of this

variation. This is especially surprising because of the A-natural just heard in the middle

voice. The rising minor sixth found numerous times in this piece (mm. 1, 2, 25, 26, 27)

characteristically evokes longing or languishing. In the “recap” (m. 25) we hear the

opening melody in the subdominant (C minor). The B-flat minor chord resulting from

the D-flat in m. 26 is uncomfortable and even more startling than the F minor chord in m.

2. In addition to the rising minor sixth motive, the melody incorporates a number of

chromatic appoggiaturas, or “sighs.” Especially noticeable is the F-flat fall to E-flat in m.

23.

In m. 24, when, in the major variations, there is a cadence in E minor, we get an

expected cadence in E-flat major. What is unexpected and special about this moment,

however, is the fact that it is preceded by four bars which set up E-flat minor. This

variation is beautifully dark and passionate; the extensive, expressive chromaticism is at

times painful, yet never fails to fascinate.

The Goldberg Variations stand apart from Bach’s other monumental keyboard

works, as fugue is not a priority. The ingenuity of this work relies on Bach’s innate

adhesion to strict formal process. It is puzzling, yet somehow comforting, to realize that

every movement stems from the fundamental bass line of the aria. This work, then, is

Bach’s typical “encyclopedic” writing, an essay on thirty different ways to use the same,

simple harmonic progression. However, the scientific foundation of this work never

takes away from the “soul’s delight.” The result is a unique beauty that is both original

and standard.