A rich new Goldberg Variations

 Nevermind - Bach Goldberg Variations

If your idea of diversity in the Goldberg Variations universe is to occasionally swap out the 1955 and 1981 recordings of Glenn Gould, you might want to expand your horizons and listen to this new arrangement of Bach's perennial best-seller, by the talented young musicians of Nevermind: Anna Besson, transverse flute; Louis Creac'h, violin; Robin Pharo, viola da gamba; and Jean Rondeau, harpsichord and organ.

You'll find the sounds of Nevermind's four instruments, in various combinations, throughout Bach's works: his sonatas for violin, for viola da gamba, and for flute, and in passages from the Passions and Cantatas. The Paris Quartets of Telemann and Les Nations by François Couperin are among the other models used in this transcription.

The spell that the Goldberg Variations weaves seems to mess with one's internal clock. I can never believe that so much happens in the 38 minutes of Glenn Gould's first version, or that even his more measured 1981 recording is still only 51 minutes. To be sure, Gould isn't generous with repeats, but there is still a feeling of time standing still in many of the variations (and in the 1981 version, of the Aria itself). Here we have the opposite effect; instead of time slowing down, there seems to be a disconnect at the end of the Aria da Capo. Surely, that hasn't been 100 minutes (over two CDs, if you're still listening on physical media)! One is carried along by the internal engine of the music, its logic, and by the often dramatic, even operatic, effect of the instrumental timbres. In his notes to his 1955 recording, Gould called this "... music which observes neither end nor beginning, music with neither real climax nor real resolution." We may have ended up where we began (time being, as we learned from True Detective, a flat circle), but what a rich experience it was!

Listening to the Goldberg Variations in a special performance on the piano or harpsichord can feel like a singular communication with the performer and the composer. This, though, is a more communal experience, not only with the four musicians, but with Bach's European network of performance practices and the traditions of music-making from the 18th century until today. For me, though, it was still a private experience that touched me deeply.

This is a journey well worth taking!

The cover photo is by Clement Vayssieres.