Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750)
Goldberg Variations BWV 988 (1741) [73:58]
Colin Booth (harpsichord)
rec. October 2010, Westbury sub Mendip, England
SOUNDBOARD RECORDS SBCD 210 [73:58] 
Having reviewed
Colin Booth’s excellent book Did Bach Really Mean That? Deceptive Notation
in Baroque Keyboard Music, it would have seemed almost rude not to hear
how the author’s commitment to accuracy in performance sounds. Indeed, Booth
states that this recording of the Goldberg Variations is here “to demonstrate
the book’s suggestions… so as to allow listeners to judge the results with
their ears.”
The differences are sometimes subtle and often less so, but one little alteration
in the opening Aria is immediately apparent, putting us on alert from
the outset. This is the second grace note in the second bar, played short
rather than leant on and played as an eighth-note, as would seem to be more
proportionate to the half-note to which it is attached, as opposed to that
preceding the eighth note directly beforehand. One thing I don’t plan to do
is get into technical analyses which, as the previous sentence aptly demonstrates,
are dull to read and more often than not confusing without the illustrations
which gives Booth’s book added clarity. His argument for this reading is demonstrated
in some discussion on the subject by Quantz, relating it to the modern galant
style to which J.S. Bach seemed to be responding in his opening to the
Goldberg Variations. Booth also says that the ambiguity about playing
this second grace note long or short “at least presents the modern player
with two equally justifiable and very different modes of execution (along
with subtle variations of each which would defy any attempt at accurate notation).”
Examples of this can be heard with Aapo Häkkinen on the Alba label (see
review)
and Steven Devine playing a Colin Booth instrument on Chandos (see review),
where in both cases that second grace note is teased a little longer than
with Booth’s more strict approach, reluctant to relinquish that expressive
elongation but still hovering somewhere near that galant principle
as well.
A non-dogmatic approach is something I appreciate greatly in Booths’ writing
on ornamentation, and as a result I find myself easily following his demonstrations
within the Goldberg Variations. It’s so easy to play things the way
we expect to hear them, and takes daring to present sometimes stark alternatives
which are nonetheless based on historical evidence. In a sense, it would be
nice to have two or even more alternative recordings of some of the variations,
or perhaps an educational DVD attached to the final performance, such is the
fertility of this ground for fascinating exploration. These issues of alternative
interpretations of Bach’s ornaments are however a subject for open discussion,
not that of a CD review.
The general impression one would expect to have from this recording might
have been one of scholarly dryness, were it not for Colin Booth’s elegance
and style as a performer, and his ability to play Bach’s rhythms with a spring
in his step. Variation 7 is a case in point, where our guide clearly
relishes the dance element in the music, emphasising the lightness in the
upward runs and melodic gestures. One of the aspects of this recording is
a relatively sober approach to tempi, and even the variations we’ve become
accustomed to hearing at least fairly fast are played here with measured consideration.
Booth’s interpretations follow stylistic and character generating ways of
performing, rather than going in for precipitate speeds. As C.P.E. Bach wrote,
“In general, liveliness in allegros is conveyed by detached notes, and the
feeling of adagios by sustained, slurred notes – even when not so marked.”
Play the variations 8 and 9 after each other, and you will hear exactly what
is meant, the first detached but not really ‘fast’, the second legato, but
not really ‘slow’. If you listen carefully to the inner pulse of each variation
you will hear significant changes in tempo, but within parameters more often
exceeded by modern players. This means that a superficial impression might
be one of too much homogeneity of pace, but rest assured, Colin Booth knows
exactly what he is doing, and why.
This business of character is a strong feature in Colin Booth’s recording.
Where the style is French, you really hear this; where the music has a dance
character you hear the sense of formal pattern or spring in the rhythm, and
where the lyrical lines have a more ‘fantasia’ feel then the sense of rubato
is just enough to give expressive stretch and flexibility. I won’t say I always
feel the ornamentation is necessarily the most beautiful solution in some
variations – the short octaves in Variation 25 for instance become
more of a technical feature rather than a musical point, though as with all
these things it is the accustomed ear which is obliged to learn new things.
Going back to the more usual lengthened grace note is less straightforward
after having heard such a convincingly played alternative, and once your brain
has experienced this Goldberg Variations it is subsequently much less
likely to take things for granted – which is the way it should be.
The printed notes for this release sum up points made by the author in his
book, and develop others in particular relevant to the work at hand. Nicely
recorded on a beautiful instrument in an intimate but not unattractive acoustic,
in short, this is a Goldberg Variations which everyone needs to hear.
It may not become a first choice for relaxed evenings with a glass of port,
but it teaches us that so much about what we thought we knew of the
piece is really cliché and wisdom received by traditions established by much
later performers. J.S. Bach himself may not have played this music in quite
the same way, but I have the feeling he would have felt common ground with
this authentic performance and taken a great interest, and he and Colin Booth
would chat and duel on their respective harpsichords until long after the
audience had taken their leave. You don’t need Colin Booth’s book to enjoy
this CD or vice versa, but it will certainly help in your understanding of
both if your interest has been woken by either.
Dominy Clements
So, you thought you knew the Goldberg Variations ...