Goldberg Variations

:For the novel by Nancy Huston, see The Goldberg Variations (novel).

Form

After a statement of the aria at the beginning of the piece, there are thirty variations. The variations generally do not follow the melody of the aria, but rather use its bass line and chord progression. Because of this, and because of the 3/4 time signature, the work is often said to be a chaconne--the difference being that the theme for a chaconne is usually just four bars long, whereas Bach's aria is in two sections of eight bars, each repeated.

Related Topics:
Bass line - Chord progression - Time signature - Chaconne

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The bass line is notated by Ralph Kirkpatrick in his performing edition as follows. The bass line can be heard as a (Ogg format, 391K).

Related Topics:
Ralph Kirkpatrick - Ogg

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The digits above the notes indicate the specified chord in the system of figured bass; where digits are separated by comma, they indicate different options taken in different variations.

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Every third variation in the series of 30 is a canon, following an ascending pattern: the first is a canon at the unison, the second is a canon at the second (that is, the second entry begins the interval of a second above the first), the next is a canon at the third and so on until variation 27 which is a canon at the ninth. The intervening variations are of various structures and character. The final variation, instead of being the expected canon in the tenth, is a quodlibet, discussed below.

Related Topics:
Canon - Second - Quodlibet

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At the end of the thirty variations, the aria is played again without alteration.

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A complete performance of the work will usually take between forty and eighty minutes, depending on tempos and how many repeats are observed.

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