Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
Canons – transcriptions by Busoni, Kempff, Lipatti, Siloti
Chick Corea (1941-2021)
Children’s Songs 1-20
Luiza Borac (piano)
rec. 2023, Tonstudio Tessma, Hanover, Germany
Hänssler Profil PH24018 [2 CDs: 143]
The Goldberg Variations is one of my top ten “Desert Island “ pieces of music and I devour any new recording; for me, its “infinite variety” is never stale, hence four years ago I undertook a survey of thirty-three versions played on the modern piano – which I prefer to the harpsichord. Its appeal to performers and audiences alike endures, and the stream of new recordings continues unabated. I have since reviewed and recommended Hannu Alasaarela’s account (review), while three MusicWeb colleagues were astonished by the virtuosity of Víkingur Ólafsson’s pianism in his recording for DG (review; review; review) – although DJB shares some of my reservations about its cold brilliance.
This latest issue featuring Romanian concert pianist Luiza Borac offers the piquant novelty of a bonus second disc. This has fourteen more canons based on the Goldberg aria, eight transcriptions by virtuoso pianists and the twenty Children’s Songs by American jazz pianist and composer Chick Corea. The Children’s Songs are little pieces also nominally “keyboard practice exercises” and inspired by both the Goldbergs and Bartók’s Mikrokosmos.
The recorded sound here has been made at a high level and is quite reverberant, imparting a bright, bell-like tintinnabulation to Borac’s playing – almost a jangling – which I at first found faintly startling. It caused me to reduce the volume considerably, but I soon adjusted to it, as it is by no means inapt for the music and the left hand bass line is still sufficiently prominent. Her phrasing and timings are conventional but not routine; she gives pauses sufficient weight and there is a kind of unhurried assurance about her manner which I find entirely appropriate. She imparts a seductive swing to Variation 5 and technically, she is flawless: her trills are graceful and remarkably consistent in Variation 28, and the rapid, rattling arpeggios in No. 29 are truly impressive. Her style is not pyrotechnical or ostentatious; we are constantly reminded of the serene dignity of this music. Rubato and pedal are sparingly applied; lightness and refinement are the key features – and the courtly elegance of the playing often reminds me of the Pièces de Clavecin of Bach’s exact contemporary and Gallic counterpart, Jean-Philippe Rameau. The leaps and ornamentation of Variation 14, delivered at a dizzying speed, are especially impressive, contrasting tellingly with the first G minor variation – the second longest but which at 4:14 is played a little too hastily and peremptorily here for my taste; Koroliov and Lifschitz, for example, are much more leisurely at around six minutes and I prefer the inwardness they communicate. Having said that, their way with the music is much more overtly Romantic, whereas Borac’s timing is consistent with her more ascetic approach. Nonetheless, the three-quarter-time music of Variation 19 still dances delightfully and the hand-crossing toccata in No 20 is a dizzy, swirling joy – although part of me misses the sheer gung-ho release of more percussive exponents. The second G minor variation, No 21, is similarly business-like; again, I cannot help feeling that the music could withstand a little more phrasal caressing to accentuate its tragic character. The same might be said of the “Black Pearl” variation, No 25; its execution is distinctly unsentimental. The Aria da Capo is to my ears once more too brusque and perfunctory; I would like more mystery – but I must concede that it will appeal to those who favour a more objective – indeed, perhaps more “authentic” – manner.
The 14 Canons are charmingly inventive and easily, discretely identifiable to the listener without a score. The sequence of beautiful melodies found in the transcriptions offer a welcome contrast to the rigorous logic of the Goldbergs. Those with only a nodding acquaintance with “classical music” will recognise the lilting tune of “Where sheep may safely graze” from the cantata BWV 208 and find themselves humming along with Lipatti’s affectionate arrangement for piano. The melodies in the three piano versions by Busoni of hymns from the Organ Chorales might also be familiar, especially the first, “Wachet auf”, from one of the Schübler Chorales. Wilhelm Kempff’s transcription of the hymn from the St Matthew Passion and Siloti’s Prelude in B minor and the famous Air in D from the Orchestral Suite No 3 are all played with stately beauty.
The addendum of Corea’s tribute to two great composers might at first sight seem incongruous, but it certainly answers the call for more adventurous programming by classical labels. Written over a decade beginning in 1971, they were first released on an album in 1984. Corea prefaced the music with the statement that it was intended “to convey simplicity as beauty, as represented in the Spirit of a child.” The twenty pieces are essentially miniatures; most last only a minute or two and only three are longer than two minutes. Playful and sometimes – obviously – rhythmically and harmonically “jazzy”, they span a wide variety of moods over half an hour and the prevalence of the pentatonic scale and cross rhythms is audibly apparent. No 14 aptly quotes and riffs on the Christmas carol “Joy to the World,” To my ears – perhaps inevitably – the music owes something to Debussy and Satie with the occasional touch of Scott Joplin – unless that is just coincidence.
Ralph Moore
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Details of Bach canons & transcriptions:
14 Canons BWV 1087 (to Goldberg Variations)
Aria Weil die wollenreichen Herden (Cantata BWV 208 Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd!) transcribed by Dinu Lipatti (1917-1950)
Aria Schafe können sicher weiden (Cantata BWV 208 Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd!) transcribed by Dinu Lipatti
Organ Choral Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme BWV 645, transcribed by Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924)
Organ Choral Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland BWV 659 transcribed by Ferruccio Busoni
Organ Choral Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ BWV 639 transcribed by Ferruccio Busoni
Choral Befiehl du deine Wege / Herzlich tut mich verlangen BWV 727 (St. Matthew Passion) transcribed by Wilhelm Kempff (1895-1991)
Prelude B minor BWV 855a transcribed by Alexander Siloti (1863-1945)
Aria in D BWV 1068 transcribed by Alexander Siloti
