After looking at the background of J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations and the Goldberg in the hands and sounds of other instruments. Let’s continue with the ensemble versions.

The Goldberg Variations, published by Bach in 1741, is beloved by musicians. Those who don’t play a keyboard instrument have been quick to arrange it for their own specialities. We’ll continue our examination with ensemble versions.

To remind you, here’s Glenn Gould’s 1981 recording of the first variation on piano.

J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 – Variatio 1. a 1 Clav. (Glenn Gould, piano)

The viola da gamba, which first appeared in Europe in the 15th century and had its heyday in the Baroque, was the predecessor for bowed instruments that were held in the legs (the ‘da gamba’ of the name). The only kind of instrument we have like that today is the cello, the tenor voice of the string section. The viola da gamba, however, came in all kinds of sizes, from pardessus (high treble), treble, alto, small tenor, tenor, bass, and contrabass (called violone).

Gambas of 5 sizes (Boston: Museum of Fine Arts) (photo by Pacamah)

In this arrangement of the Goldberg for 2 violas da gamba, in this case, 2 bass violas da gamba, the arranger hasn’t given one gambist the right-hand material and the other the left-hand material but has shared it between the two.

J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (arr. for 2 violas da gamba) – Variatio 1. a 1 Clav. (Claas Harders; Silke Strauf, violas da gamba)

Now moving to three instruments, in this case, violin, viola and cello, the arranger Dmitry Sitkovetsky created orchestral (which we will look at later) and string trio arrangements of the Goldberg. Sitkovetsky dedicated the string trio arrangement to the late Glenn Gould, the pianist most associated with the work in the 20th century. Sitkovetsky follows a long tradition in his arrangement – Mozart was known to have made his own string trio and string quartet arrangements of Bach’s fugues, for example.

In his arrangement, the three instruments are not divided by voice (high, middle, low) but rather function as a single instrument with an extended register.

J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (arr. D. Sitkovetsky for string trio) – Variatio 1. a 1 Clav. Variatio 2. a 1 Clav. Variatio 3. Canone all’Unisuono a 1 Clav. (Dmitry Sitkovetsky, violin; Gérard Caussé, viola; Mischa Maisky, cello)

A different kind of low voice is used in this arrangement. The unusual ‘cello da spalla’, a cello that is braced against the shoulder and not played vertically in front of the body.

Cello da spalla played by Sigiswald Kuijken, 2023

The sound of this string trio is clear and bright with the cello providing support of a lower middle voice.

J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (arr. for violin, viola and cello da spalla) – Variatio 1. a 1 Clav. (La Compagnie Pochette)

As we branch out into other kinds of trios, the violin, guitar, and cello trio bring in the plucked string sound of the guitar. As we heard earlier, the guitar, with its ability to be played with five fingers, can contribute more flowing lines than is achievable on the violin.

J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (arr. D. Juritz for violin, cello and guitar) – Variatio 1. a 1 Clav. (David Juritz, violin; Tim Hugh, cello; Craig Ogden, guitar)

A chamber ensemble, here consisting of viol, cello and keyboard, takes Sitkovetsky’s arrangement for string trio from 1985, adds in Bernard Labadie’s transcription of 1999, which attempted to be closer to Baroque performance practice and adds in their own ideas on Baroque performance practice.

J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (arr. for chamber ensemble) – Variatio 1. a 1 Clav. (Members of Parnassi musici)

By using recorder, saxophone, and percussion, the Alpha ensemble created a sound that was both old and new. The recorder is an instrument that has been used continually since the medieval period, the saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax in the early 1840s, and, in the middle, the marimba, which first appears in English-language sources in 1704. We tend to hear the marimba as the modern voice, however, and so this Goldberg straddles the centuries and seems to be very contemporary.

J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (arr. P. Navarro-Alonso for recorder, saxophone and percussion) – Variatio 1. a 1 Clav. (Alpha)

The addition of the recorder to the mix can take us on a tangent. There are arrangements of the Goldberg for recorder and organ, recorder and harpsichord, recorder and nyckelharpa, and even recorder quintet.

In this arrangement of the first aria for recorder and organ, we have to thank modern recording technology for being able to hear one of the smallest wind instruments paired with one of the largest keyboard instruments. The recorder sound seems to drag us back in time to the Renaissance, whereas the organ seems like the more modern voice.

J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 – Aria (arr. for recorder and organ) (Kondens)

In an arrangement for recorder and harpsichord, the recorder takes over one melodic line, seeming to leave the accompaniment to the harpsichord. So much seems stripped out of this version that much of Bach’s counterpoint seems to have been left at the side of the arranger’s table, making this seem like a work for melody instrument alone rather than for two keyboards.

J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Aria (arr. for recorder and harpsichord) (Theatre of the Ears)

In an arrangement that is definitely for a local sound, the recorder is the main voice while the nyckelharpa, a Swedish ‘keyed fiddle’, takes the accompaniment. The bow provides the sound activation while the keys give the specific pitch.

Nyckelharpa being played, 2022 (photo by Karl Gruber)

The recorder quintet again uses a single instrument for the melodic drive while the other, lower voices become accompaniment.

J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations – Variatio 1 | Seldom Sene

Many of these versions have taken us a long way away from Bach’s original sleeping potion work. The emphasis on a single high voice, for example, seems very far away from the idea of Bach’s variation set.

Next, we’ll look at even more ensembles. How far away from Bach can we go? Find out at Variations on the Goldberg IV.

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