Customer Reviews

Bach J.S: Goldberg Variations

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Goldberg Variations, composed for harpsichord, can be accommodated on the harp without modification, just as it is on the piano. Sylvain Blassel thus gives us pure unadulterated Bach. He uses an Erard harp from 1904 which renders tones and colors with utmost clarity, without the over-reverberant sonic aura one normally associates with the instrument. Here we are given the beauty of the harp's tonal quality without the halo that one associates with the instrument obscuring the score. Mr. Blassel is a virtuoso of the first order and serves Bach well, with incisiveness, clear articulation, rhythmic variety, and lyric grace, as well as the myriad coloristic opportunities his instrument affords him. Ornamentation is always graceful and musical. There are no repeats. So, how does the Goldberg sound on harp? In this performance and with this instrument, it is a thing of beauty indeed, a most intimate and personal experience. So one has to be careful: not all harps can do it. The danger of muddled sound is always there. Harps with modern stops came into existence about fifty years after Bach's death; Bach then, wrote nothing for the instrument. But the same caveats can be said about the Goldberg on piano. This then, is a recording to savour and treasure, even if it not ought to be one's sole recording of the Goldberg. Let that one be Hantaď, or Gould, or Tipo, etc., indeed a Goldberg on keyboards. But Mr. Blassel serves Bach well by showing us the Goldberg as it sounds on his beautiful harp.

Given the lack of repeats, as a filler the cd gives us an interesting and delicious treat. According to the liner notes, in 1974 a copy of the Goldberg variations annotated by Bach himself was discovered which, on the back cover, contained 14 canons in the hand of the composer himself, of which 12 were previously unknown. The canons were based on the first six notes of the Aria of the Goldberg variations. No instrumentation was specified (though one could assume the harpsichord). Mr. Blassell renders them in a version for two harps, being joined by Fabrice Pierre, another harp virtuoso, also on an Erard harp, but of later vintage. Again, clarity is paramount. The results are a delight.

This cd is highly recommended.

Beautiful recording of one of the worlds most beautiful pieces. Because the sound of a harp stays longer than that of a piano, the harmonic movement op the piece is much more clear to the ear. A remarkable achievement of such a young performer.