Johann Sebastian Bach – Goldberg Variations, arr. D Sitkovetsky – Britten Sinfonia, Thomas Gould (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88.2kHz | Time – 01:12:34 minutes | 1,34 GB | Genre: Classical
Official Digital Download – Source: Qobuz | © 2015 harmonia mundi usa
Recorded: in April, 2014 at All Hallows’ Church, Gospel Oak, London Recorded, edited and mastered in DSD
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) supposedly wrote his Goldberg Variations at the request of Hermann Carl von Keyserlingk who wanted some clavier pieces for his harpsichordist, Johann Gottlieb Goldberg. However, there is no evidence that this was the case, particularly given that Goldberg would only have been fourteen years of age when the variations were written. The indications are that the Goldberg Variations were intended to be an integral part of Bach’s Clavier-Übung series to which they bring an impressive finale.
The debate over whether these variations should be performed only on a harpsichord or whether a modern piano is suitable pall into insignificance when confronted with a modern arrangement for small string orchestra.
Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music Review :: Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations, originally meant for solo harpsichord, is surely one of the sublime moments of the baroque era, a set of variations that never ceases to yield up precious riches on every hearing. Dmitry Sitkovetsky’s arrangement for string orchestra gives us a version that opens up the shifting moods and the contrapuntal genius of the set in ways that bring the music to us in even more depth. The Britten Sinfonia under Thomas Gould has recently recorded a cornerstone rendition of the arrangement (Harmonia Mundi 807633).
What’s remarkable about the Sitkovetsky scoring and the Britten Sinfonia’s performance is the vast timbral resources of the string orchestra and how it is put to use. The contrapuntal lines are all there to be heard as Bach worked them out with his architectonic genius. But the instrumentation changes for every variation, in both combinations of players and string articulation. Gould and the Sinfonia give us the detailed reading and heartfelt brio that is exhilaratingly true to the arrangement in the best ways. The tempos seem totally right for each variation and the three-dimensional qualities of the string sonance come at you stunningly in this beautiful sounding recording.
An arrangement like this demands a very sensitive collective instrument to succeed fully. Gould and the Sinfonia give us that. They come through with stirring realizations that put your ears in overdrive throughout. I cannot imagine a better performance and the string arrangement is wonderfully definitive. This is music that puts you in a super-human world and keeps you there throughout the duration. Strongly recommended!
Tracklist:
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (1741)
transcribed for string orchestra by Dmitry Sitkovetsky (b. 1954)
01 | Aria 3’34
02 | Variation 1 1’52
03 | Variation 2 1’24
04 | Variation 3, Canone all’ Unisono 2’10
05 | Variation 4 1’01
06 | Variation 5 1’26
07 | Variation 6, Canone alla seconda 1’11
08 | Variation 7, al Tempo di Giga 2’19
09 | Variation 8 1’52
10 | Variation 9, Canone alla Terza 1’28
11 | Variation 10, Fugetta 1’29
12 | Variation 11, 2’01
13 | Variation 12, Canone alla Quarta 1’55
14 | Variation 13 3’42
15 | Variation 14 2’07
16 | Variation 15, Canone alla Quinta. Andante 4’32
17 | Variation 16, Ouverture 2’54
18 | Variation 17 2’07
19 | Variation 18, Canone alla sesta 1’25
20 | Variation 19 1’57
21 | Variation 20 2’05
22 | Variation 21, Canone alla settima 2’55
23 | Variation 22 1’16
24 | Variation 23 1’53
25 | Variation 24, Canone all’ ottava 2’33
26 | Variation 25, Adagio 5’51
27 | Variation 26 2’02
28 | Variation 27, Canone alla nona 1’58
29 | Variation 28 2’10
30 | Variation 29 2’11
31 | Variation 30, Quodlibet 1’39
32 | Aria 3’52
Personnel:
Britten Sinfonia
Thomas Gould violin/director
Download:
https://subyshare.com/4zup5ffc44gz/BachJ.S.G0ldbergVariati0nsarr.Sitk0vetskyTh0masG0uld2015Harm0niaMundiStudi0Master88.2kHz24bit.part1.rar.html
https://subyshare.com/k4akezy982sf/BachJ.S.G0ldbergVariati0nsarr.Sitk0vetskyTh0masG0uld2015Harm0niaMundiStudi0Master88.2kHz24bit.part2.rar.html