We are very excited about
our newest recording:
our own arrangement of
Bach’s Goldberg Variations.
All Photos by Rob Anderson
The idea of adapting Bach's famous Aria mit verschiedenen Veränderungen, BWV 988 for our ensemble has been in the works for a long time. Having performed many of his chamber works, our ensemble has always felt a strong resonance with the music of Bach. As a result, we felt compelled to to continue exploring his music while also experimenting with something new. Although the Goldberg Variations were originally written for solo harpsichord, we were intrigued by the possibilities of hearing it through a different lens. Our approach to the process of creating our own arrangement of this monumental work was two-fold: imagining and exploring the different stylistic and timbral options through various combinations of instruments while also taking into account the technical limitations of our instruments' ranges and how they would fit together. Ultimately, we preserved the Aria and nine of the variations in their original form while arranging the other movements for different combinations of flute, violin/viola, bassoon, cello/piccolo cello, and harpsichord. As a result, this interpretation explores new perspectives, offering the listener a unique experience of hearing Bach's inventive and sublime counterpoint through a kaleidoscopic array of voices while fundamentally remaining rooted in the keyboard-centric atmosphere of this work.
We first performed the work in May 2016, and we recorded it at the recital hall of the Staller Center for the Performing Arts in Stony Brook, NY on Sept 5-7, 2017.
We had a wonderful time collaborating with flutist Emi Furgeson on this project and we could not have asked for a better recording team than that of Geoffrey Burgess (producer) Robert Anderson (engineer). We anticipate the release of the CD within the next year.
Learn more about our project in this video from our fundraising campaign.