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Friday, March 29, 2024

Would Bach approve of synths?

For an ideal experience listen to this while reading:



One of my favorite recordings of all time is Glenn Gould playing the Goldberg variations from Bach (the 1981 version!!!). Each variation on its own is delightful; however, when listened to in its entirety the Variations are a whip smart demonstration of the piano’s internal logic. The Aria nearly brings me to tear; you can hear Gould singing along to the piano, his chair creaking with the crescendos. 

Gould's annotated score
Gould always sat on particular high back wood chair when playing piano. He hunched over the keys, nose nearly touching them. It's a strange look. His father sawed the chairs legs shorter to complement the height of a piano. There is an entire paper dedicated to an analysis of the squeaks of the chair.

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I have this fantasy of getting a MicroKorg and playing some

of the variations on there. I’m curious if the tenderness of a variation like the Aria is transferable to an electronic instrument. Bach originally wrote the Goldberg variations for harpsichord, which Gould disregarded (based)  
Here is an awesome version played on an modular synth: 


Someone has left a plea in the comments of that video:

'"Please don’t mix with good thing 
Or bad thing
That’s not God’s will
Please erase this one
Please God tell me so"'

Gould himself loved the Moog synthesizer and Wendy Carlos' Switched On Bach.  I think Bach would have loved synthesizers. The harpsichord, in comparison to a pianoforte, is a lousy instrument. If Bach could have composed on a piano, I bet he would've. This isn't to say that a proper piano is at all the same as a synth, a synth can't come close, but I do think the sentiment of instrumental experimentation I envision Bach to have had to hold true across instruments. 





 






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