Johann Sebastian Bach, the composer of the Goldberg Variations, is known for his mastery of counterpoint, canons, and complex fugues, but also for his ability to create simple, touching melodies.
Performer Biography
Erich Traxler, the performer on this recording, is a harpsichord and organ player who focuses on repertoire from 1600 to 1800 and researches Baroque 'Musikalisches Handwerk' (musical craft) and musical rhetoric.
Interpretation
Erich Traxler's recording of the Goldberg Variations aims to explore and convey the multiple rhetorical and compositional layers of the piece, viewing music as a language.
Compositional Technique
The Goldberg Variations begin with an easygoing aria, followed by variations that showcase Bach's contrapuntal mastery and diverse compositional techniques.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Bach's music, particularly the Goldberg Variations, fulfills the demands of rhetorical writing, where each melody and musical thought is embedded in a rhetorical process, and themes engage in 'dialectic arguments'.
Instruments
Erich Traxler performs the Goldberg Variations on a French-Flemish harpsichord, a 1992 instrument by Keith Hill, modeled after a Ruckers harpsichord from Colmar, 1624.
Compositional Technique
The Goldberg Variations include nine canons, each based on the bass line but in different styles, some even in inversion, demonstrating Bach's skill in complex musical construction.
