Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Goldberg Variations (arr. string orchestra by Alexander Vittal)
Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado
No recording details provided
Reviewed as lossless download
Navona NV6812 [69]

You may already be familiar with Dmitri Sitkovetsky’s arrangement of the Goldbergs for string orchestra, and will have seen in the header that this is not a recording of it, but a new arrangement by Alexander Vittal, violist in the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado, for whom the work was created. There is a substantial role for solo violin in many of the variations, to the point where one might almost describe it as an arrangement for violin and string orchestra.

Across the thirty-two movements, some stand out as particularly well done. The Canon at the Second (Variation 6) works extremely well with the multiple solo lines weaving around each other, and the grandness of the Ouverture (Variation 16) is well elaborated. I loved the way the voices were brought into Variation 22 (but felt it was much too slow, a common failing here), and the dance rhythms in Variation 24 were delightful.

There are, however, as many or more that do not work well, or more accurately, are a little too simplistic: I‘m thinking of Variations 4, 17 and 29 in particular. My first thought was negative, but then I recalled what I had read about Vittal from an online search (no booklet is provided, and the information on the label’s page for the release is not especially informative). He has spent a decade working with El Sistema groups in Colorado, so I wondered whether some of these arrangements might have been for those players, in which case, the simple, somewhat stodgy rhythms and reduced complexity of the melodic lines would make sense. I hope that might be the case.

My overall impression is that the tempi are too slow in too many of the variations, sucking life out of the piece. As Vittal is one of the players, this is presumably a consequence of his directions in the score. Given the existence of the Sitkovetsky arrangement, I did wonder why the orchestra felt it was necessary to “reinvent the wheel” (unless the cost of purchasing the score was more than the fee paid to Vittal). I should say that I do not have a special affection for the Sitkovetsky arrangement, an opinion shared with my colleagues (review ~ review). If I did want to listen to an orchestral version of the Goldbergs, I would certainly opt for the Chad Kelly version from 2023, played by Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque (review).

David Barker

Buying this recording via the link below generates revenue for MWI, which helps the site remain free