by Rebecca Cochran
 
The theremin is an early electronic instrument invented by Leon Theremin in 1928. Controlled without physical contact, the instrument consists of two metal antennas that sense the relative position of the player’s hands, one for frequency and the other for volume. The electric signals from the theremin are amplified and sent to a loadspeaker.
 
The instrument has been most widely used in avant-garde music and in film scores. Of course, the occasional theremin player cannot resist trying the instrument out on Bach! 

Listen to Variation No. 25 from the Goldberg Variations performed by thereminist, Grégoire Blanc.

by Rebecca Cochran
 
Variation 25 of the Goldberg Variations, marked adagio in Bach’s hand, was famously referred to as “the black pearl” by harpsichordist, Wanda Landowska. Others have described the variation as the emotional high point of the work.

Enjoy this recording of “the black pearl” by pianist, Alexis Weissenberg.

by Rebecca Cochran
 
The seventh variation of the Goldberg Variations is marked al tempo di Giga by Bach. Its dotted rhythms are similar to Bach’s French Suite No. 2 and to the gigue in his Overture in the French Style. This style of gigue is sometimes referred to as a canary gigue, based on the rhythm of a dance originating in the Canary Islands.
 
Hear the canary gigue in this recording by pianist, Glenn Gould.

by Rebecca Cochran
 
In yesterday’s post, I mentioned Bach’s use of the gigue dance form in many of his works. Another fine example is the final movement of the Sonata for Two Violins and Keyboard in C Major, BWV 1037.
 
When Breitkopf & Härtel published the trio sonata in 1761, it was attributed to Johann Gottlieb Goldberg (yes, that Goldberg). Three years later, however, it was reissued as a work by J.S. Bach. Nearly two centuries later, in 1953, a noted scholar found the work to be (conclusively?) that of Goldberg.
 
It doesn’t matter to me to whom the work is attributed. Bach/Goldberg ends this church sonata with a gigue (a folk dance)! This frolicking dance is in joyous contrast to the earlier movements. The clever emphasis on the nonexistent downbeat causes me to believe this is, in fact, a work by Bach.

Enjoy listening to this lively rendition by the London Baroque under the direction of Charles Medlam.