BACH IN THE SYNAGOGUE: NEVERMIND

  Košice Music Spring 04.06.2025 Synagogue on Zvonárská 19:00

Nevermind Ensemble
Anna BESSON , flute
Louis CREAC'H , violin
Robin PHARO , viola da gamba
Jean RONDEAU , harpsichord and organ player

Programme:

Johann Sebastian Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 90 '

Transcription of the Goldberg Variations BWV 988; "Clavier Übung bestehend in einer Aria mit verschiedenen Veränderungen vors Clavicimbal mit 2 Manualen" by Johann Sebastian Bach, created by the ensemble Nevermind (Anna Besson, Louis Creac'h, Robin Pharo and Jean Rondeau) for violin, flute, viola da gamba and basso continuo.

Transcription Supervisor: Robin Pharo & Jean Rondeau
Editor-in-Chief: Robin Pharo

The project was created on September 23, 2023 as part of an artist residency organized by the Bel-Air Claviers festival.

The Goldberg Variations by Johann Sebastian Bach are the pinnacle of the genre of variation form for keyboard instruments and can perhaps only be compared to Beethoven's Diabelli Variations, Brahms' Variations and Fugue in B flat major on a theme by Handel, or Reger's Variations and Fugue on a theme by Mozart. The work is named after Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, an exceptionally gifted young harpsichordist and composer. With the support of Count Keyserling, under whom he was court harpsichordist, he studied first with Wilhelm Friedemann Bach and later with Johann Sebastian Bach. The young, only fourteen-year-old Goldberg allegedly played for the ailing count during sleepless nights. That is why the count commissioned Bach to write music for these night concerts. Bach wrote the variations, which are actually the beginning of the history of modern variations and are currently one of the most beautiful and extensive works of their kind. It is admirable that such a large and magnificent work was created on the basis of such a curious circumstance as the count's insomnia. The work was published in 1741 as Bach's fourth volume of keyboard compositions, Clavier-Übung, with the title "Aria with Various Variations for Two-Manual Harpsichord." A monumental exploration of variational form, this work ranks among the most fundamental keyboard compositions of the 18th century. In it, Bach demonstrates his mastery of all the musical styles of his time.