HELEN 10/14: Today I played through (and thoroughly enjoyed) the 13th Variation. Coincidentally, I read the following passage today in Philip Kennicott’s lovely book, “Counterpoint: a memoir of Bach and Mourning,” which is about his journey of learning the Goldberg Variations after the death of his mother.
“….I sat down with the score away from the piano and studied another one of my favorites, the thirteenth variation. While it seems one of the most transparent and even sentimental of the variations, I discovered with delight that it is also one of the variations that most closely tracks the original aria. If you have been struggling to stay attuned to the bass line since first hearing the aria some twenty minutes [13 days] earlier, here you will find it strangely intact, and at times quite close to its original statement. Even the top line, which begins with a graceful turning figure reminiscent of the little mordents heard in the opening of the aria, seems to track the rising and falling profile of the aria’s melody. But for all of its apparent similarity on the page, it is difficult, and perhaps perverse, to play it in a way that underscores its close connection with the original aria. If in many of the variations Bach says, ‘I have changed everything and still it is the same,’ in this one he seems to say, ‘I’ve changed little, but it is utterly different.'”
GRACE 10/14: Wow that’s an awesome passage, thanks for sharing!! I finished the variations on Tuesday evening and flew out early on Wednesday!
Looking forward to catching up with you all when you all catch up.