J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variation 9
David Clark Little, harpsichord

recording, video and production by:
David Clark Little
© 2024 ADNARIM STUDIO

Harpsichord built by Robert Wilson, 1986, after Blanchet, 1733.
The tuning is lower than present-day concert pitch (A is at 415 Hz instead of 440 Hz). Vallotti temperament was used to tune the harpsichord.

The Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, is a keyboard masterpiece written for double-manual harpsichord by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750) consisting of an aria and a set of 30 variations. First published in 1741, the work is considered to be one of the most important examples of variation form, showcasing several types of keyboard music used in Bach's time. The Variations are named after Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, who may have been the first performer. Legend would have it that Goldberg, a student of Bach, was employed by an ambassador, Count Kaiserling. The Count was an insomniac, and he asked Bach to write music that Goldberg would play for him during his sleepless nights. As a reward, Bach received a golden goblet filled with 100 louis-d'or. The Variations are full of invention, ingenuity, and beauty, “for the refreshment of the spirits,” according to the title page. The Count never tired of them, and would say, "Dear Goldberg, do play me one of my variations."

Image Credits:
ESA: Euclid's view of the Horsehead Nebula

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