Glenn Gould-Bach's Goldberg Variations (Part 1 of 6)

[Barmyandlight]

Ready when you are, Sergeant Pemory.

[Barmyandlight]

Ready when you are, Sergeant Pemory.

[TheChopin37]

How is it possible not appreciate angels' music?

[steppinout67]

Why is the sheet music I found for this incorrect? It doesn't sound exactly like what Glenn is playing.

[CaramelMarshmallow]

@steppinout67 Gould adds his own ornaments and phrasings, as per the style for baroque music. For example, at 00:57 he rolls the chord downward in a manner that many subsequent musicians have emulated.

That being said, I don't think anyone could ever play these variations anywhere near how Gould plays them, especially with regard to the independence of the voices.

[Inspirandus]

This super transparent interpretation is just brilliant. Love it!

[gtandres92]

Ready when you are, Sergeant Pembry...

[jambratz]

The aria is the hardest to pull off with conviction. He plays it so wonderously.

[BeBopDeluxe85]

Greatest musician of the 20th century...Gould's genius was unequaled...

[ROLANDMC80EX]

Nobody plays Bach like he does, it is pure genius!Forget the vocalisations he does, just rejoice that the great man's music is performed by one who really

appreciates the richness of argueably the greatest composer of all.Be blessed if you find the Otto Klemperer version of the Matthew Passion.....and be prepared by the master at work!

[alias215]

7:28 YES!

[gr4l9um20b7o]

It's a bit interesting that the picture was Gloud about 20 years old, however he was already 55 by the time he played this.

[yumpin]

@gr4l9um20b7o this was actually his first studio recording. He re recorded it again later. Unfortunately he didn't make it to 55.

[gr4l9um20b7o]

@yumpin Oh,really!

[audreyhsux5727]

@gr4l9um20b7o no he died at fifty

[Sophiestelle]

God bless you Glen; thank you!

[pianonger]

Music is the closest thing we have to heaven.

[jogobonito1234]

@pianonger - I agree with you.

[jjbinks3]

fuck the Silence of Lambs

[dlfunky1]

just beautiful i came across theis piece when i first saw english paitent and loved it ever since. GG is a master bach interpreter he just saw into bach's mind!

[dagharr2]

i never noticed the humming until now. hmmmmm.

[dlfunky1]

@dagharr2 yes his humming is sooo annoying!

[Bellairs120466]

Thumbs if Hannibal Lecter brought you here?

[thegoddescomposer]

J.s Bach is the last person who was sended to Earth by God

[fernandoglionna]

@thegoddescomposer Don't forget Luis Alberto Spinetta.

[nareksaribekyan]

I've heard some people saying they don't like Bach... I don't believe them.

[branbyblue]

Love this. Every morning. Thanks.

[colourfulwithaU]

This keeps me awake, I can't sleep through this and miss a second of it.

[shaughnhere]

ALTOVEN DO BE QUIET AND LISTEN

[shaughnhere]

THIS MUSIC IS HOLY,AND GLENN GOULD IS A TRUE PROPHET

[shaughnhere]

oh gods i love this music and glenn gould is so totally true to and IN this beauty........................­THANK YOU GOD OR GODS

[Bunnies4wool]

I love the piano, but does anyone else find the vocalizations distracting? Were these somehow edited out of his recordings? I hope so. But that does not diminish his mastery - almost magical - of Bach's sublime music.

[HUGOBRAIN]

@Bunnies4wool it's true, it's an open question... His vocalizations wakes us up from 'mere' listeners: we realize this is a man, a lover of music, which is playing this, and not a perfect automaton. I like it, because it makes it more intimate, more human. There are plenty of 'perfect' interpretations of this piece. Glen Gould was total, and not conventional, that's why we love him.

[Schizopantheist]

@HUGOBRAIN Not an open question for me. Western Orchestral/classical music is far too stuffy and conservative. The vocalisations are great. I wouldnt be surprised if Bach sometimes hummed along (although as a justification that rather undercuts my previous statement!). I suppose i understand the urge for a 'perfect' recording but i think i prefer this. Gould had some interesting things to say about the perfection or otherwise of recordings (theres a program he did up on Ubuweb).

[divadivinita]

@Schizopantheist

Bach was a very lively and great hearted man. He had nearly 20 children, and they were at home often around and they loved music as much as he did. His humor was celebrated in a club-like setting, to baroque times something like todays Jazz Club.

He played his fantasies and improvisations there, and took them down on paper. Bach had tremendous grace in his soul, and I look at him as much as others look up to their father.

Where he could he allowed human creativity & spontaneity

[iibeelive]

he is a genius he made variations like any other

[goodboybuddy1]

Glenn Gould was sheer poetry in every respect.

[physphilmusic]

The moment you listen to Gould, you know that no matter how weird he is, he is a great artist - how the hell can you get both voices so crystal clear like that in variation 1? That is true counterpoint. The average professional pianist can play all notes flawlessly, but usually only one voice is brought out at the detriment of all the others. With Gould, you can listen to any voice you want, any time, at any point.

[physphilmusic]

Some people just like to be anti-establishment and pronounce all famous artists overrated...

[haranoe]

@jaltoven Sure. Glenn Gould's versions are perfect crossover experiences for sensibilities nurtured in the bubble of the post-romantic, post-jazz era: if you can't go to Bach, you will need someone to bring Bach to you.

[haranoe]

@jaltoven Not only is he overrated as a performer OF BACH, and a conceited diva outside his job, but he had to be stupid enough to record himself SINGING while PLAYING BACH.

Glenn Gould's version can be a wonder of the world only for those who think that harpsichords, or any instruments made before 1840, sound odd and that classical music actually started with the Romantic era.

[roflattheworld]

@haranoe I find it funny that you're posting on something that you know virtually nothing about... do a little research to find out why Gould played as he did - What was it that he was obsessed with that made him play his songs like this? Some archaic fanaticism? Hardly... it's the form that he's obsessed with... it puts him at a detriment with other composers' works, but some argue that because of it, he plays Bach perhaps better than anyone else - with that and his mastery of voice intonation.

[haranoe]

@roflattheworld "Knowing nothing about..." virtually always means "not following the dominant, accepted taste and prejudices", and what is funny is how you in fact are saying about Gould's version exactly what I posted: it's all about HIM, and HIS idea of how the score, the "form" in pretentious, pompous pseudotechnical babble you referred to, should sound. His work is there, and so is Bach's, and they just don't match: not meaning one is better or worse, they are simply different sensibilities.

[roflattheworld]

@haranoe Lol, no, I'm doing my Masters in Musicology with my dissertation on Glenn Gould's playing style. I agree with your last statement, they are different sensibilities, but only to a point. When I say "form", I mean, quite literally, the form of the music... he 'neglects' other aspects of playing style and compositional content to delve completely into unraveling the form of the piece, but in Bach's case, he captures the most important element in Bach, imo. QED, in my opinion, he's the best

[haranoe]

@roflattheworld I should try that master's degree in musicology too myself, so that people would at least feel somehow compelled to read me :-) So now we got it right: it's all ultimately about taste, opinion and prejudiced assumptions about Bach's music, justified/supported by a confuse understanding of vague terms like "form", and a starry-eyed delving into the "essence", rather than into the actual configuration, of a musical composition.

[roflattheworld]

@haranoe Haha, whatever the case, let's mark it down to taste, and this recording I happen to like :) Other people are, of course, free not to... and that's fine with me :)

[btown2345]

I love the playing but are there any recordings where he isn't singing? His singing just isn't as good as it would have to be to add to the piece, I'd really like to hear just the piano if you could help me out.

[haranoe]

@btown2345 We have shared the same mistake in the wording our appreciation of The Glenn's multifarious talent: he's not singing, he's humming along.

[utcaveman]

quintessential Gould... no questions...

[hapelliotte]

ready when you are...

...Sergeant Pembry

[TheKimiopera]

I really love how he sings the melody

[BCsJonathanTM]

"They don't see what's good in the music they listen to, and they don't see the good in the music you listen to..."

was intended to be

"YOU don't see what's good in the music they listen to, and they don't see the good in the music you listen to..."

Oops.

[sipisandeepsingh]

Hannibal Lecter sent me.

[gothicvamp30]

@sipisandeepsingh anne rice sent me:)

[omgsohyper]

Did anyone already notice that he is singing? x)

You can clearly hear his voice over the keys!

My late grandpa was somewhat like this, he was a guitarist back in Paris, and the sound tecnicians went MAD with him, because he did the exact same thing that Glenn Gould does/did!

[hggarlot]

Bach et Gould qui l'interpréte si merveilleusement sont deux génies de la musique !

[mickyfan1000]

beautiful.. each key is hitting my heart. subtle yet so vivid..

[melancholyhumour]

*Sigh*

I just hate the people in my school. You have to dumb yourself down to fit in with the crowd. You have to lower yourself to gutter rags like 50 cent or Justin Bieber to be "cool", so to speak. I hate it.

If they could only appreciate this... If they could only feel what I feel when I hear this...

If they could only appreciate Classical Music...

[ellandelachapelle]

@melancholyhumour Don´t worry. You´ll find your crowd. (I did. Just keep at it.)

[Pretendkid]

@melancholyhumour Me too! High five! and they think they're actually listening to music, not trash

[BCsJonathanTM]

@melancholyhumour “...gutter rags like 50 cent or Justin Bieber...”

They don't see what's good in the music they listen to, and they don't see the good in the music you listen to, and this is their fault? Why not listen to their music in the manner - I assume - you think they should listen to the music you listen to and thus equip yourself to better relate to them and gain the possibility to sow in them open-mindedness?

Or something like that.

[WhiteDeath]

@melancholyhumour I always thank to my parents the fact they gave me a musical education. It's a like a privilege beeing able to appreciate this music...

[audreyhsux5727]

@melancholyhumour actually it is widely known @ my school that i like classical music and the people there dont tease me about it @ all...people know that my revenge could be messed up :P

[averagewhiteguy3790]

@melancholyhumour this music was and is made for the elite. do you really think bach cared at all about what peasants thought about his music? it's lonely at the top so get used to it. but don't criticize people who aren't as gifted as you. this type of behavior is more fitting of the lower classes.

[nuptualplumage]

@averagewhiteguy3790 Class is not indicative of taste. That reasoning is a fallacy that our world has seem too much of.

[Pianoguy32]

@nuptualplumage It is widely true though

[markeedog1975]

@melancholyhumour hey man dont worry this is beautiful and if some people took the stick out of there asses they to would find beauty in this.

[apsod]

@melancholyhumour

Sorry but this is not classical, this is baroque.

[YashiroNakazaky]

@apsod This IS Classical Music, but from the baroque period. greetings =)



[aghaanantyab]

@apsod yes, this is ancient

[fullargon]

@apsod Classical, Baroque,... who cares? This is just "timeless" music.

[happygofucky]

@fullargon Historians, music critics, and a few others I would suspect

[RunningHamsterPower]

@apsod yeah. it's a theme and variation based composition, a baroque style. glad u pointed that out. :D

[dapa50]

Not only do I love his music, but the photo is incredible.. How can one not be taken by his passion??

[sharinly]

@babsschloss I find the humming so personal- it's almost like I'm listening to Glenn Gould play in my living room. How awesome is that??

[emimichan007]

Thumbs up if 'The Silence of the Lambs' got you here !

[DonaldAceDouglass]

Never has a more sublime piece of music been written nor has it ever been played with more love. Listen to his joy and fun as he plays.

[Boldstrummer]

About his humming along. . .

One doesn't want to mess with essence. The music had penetrated his very being, his body. . . And he plays it like he would sing it. He could probably not stop doing it even if he tried, and I'm sure he has tried. It only destroys the experience if you tell yourself that story and believe it. It has never ruined it for me.

[SomeTrespassing]

The Silence Of The Lambs got me here :o

[babsschloss]

the playing is sublime, but i've always been saddened by how much his relentless humming destroys the experience!

[KABRIS1]

@babsschloss He cannot be experienced with out the humming.If I concentrate on his playing, my brain fuses the humming with the overall expression, which in Gould's case is part and parcel of his performance.

[ErminTkalec]

i am asking myself who is bigger genius..? Bach that wrote those works, or Gould that plays those works so the best! :D

[cives]

The recording was done in 1981...

[SonitiVeri]

A truly awesome recording!

Music just doesn't get any better than this!

[beethomozart]

this monument of the baroque music was born from a request by the Keiserling count, russian ambassador in Dresde to J.S.Bach in 1742, Gould was one of the best Bach performers

[TingMcTingMan]

i can hear him sing along with the piano :P

[dyneze]

@TingMcTingMan he was a true eccentric

[lustful2]

In one of the variations if I am not mistaken i can hear the Arioso that Bach also composed earlier on.

[AleichemSholem]

@lustful2 You're correct.

[aljoscha24]

G.G. war kaum 50 als die Aufnahme gemacht wurde- ist anders als die ältere aber wunde voll

[iamporgie]

Have just discovered the Variations and Glenn Gould's versions of them after listening to a BBC radio 4 documentry....

[morvensky]

I like all of Gould's recordings of the Goldberg variations. If you have not heard his less well-known recording from the 1959 Salzburg festival, you should listen to it. I think it is as good as the 1955 and the 1982.

[lotusbuds2000]

Glen Gould forever and ever...I'm in heaven.

[g2k25d94]

this is good bedtime music. lol

[linceed87]

damn, you really must be stupid

[templedread]

@g2k25d94 : I'm not quite sure that you listened to all the track...

[nie919]

śliczne

I like it

[zuza1711]

he plays it as if telling a story that is most well known to him or...just living the notes without pretence or care for anything outside them.

[skateordie2]

Listen do Schiff's instead. Do yourself that favour

[Haeronthegreat]

Glenn Gould had an odd idea about just how much breath a singer might have!

[jerrynbridgetcruz]

en verdad Leo mi gusta la primer parte solamente .

[jerrynbridgetcruz]

.Thank you Sir.

[sam0xin]

Bach is Genius,Goldberg V-s are 1 of Wonders of the World & Glen Gould was born to perform it ! .

1955 is brilliant...& 1981 is brilliant with wisdom ! ! !

[mpppadre]

tudom Misi a bárányok hallgatnak, de csak pici ideig, mert Ők is patkányok, de Bach azért tudja....Nem?

[drjekyll66]

P.S. The most wonderfull is his recording of the fifties.

[drjekyll66]

This recording is perhaps the most wonderfull thing in musical history. Thank You !

[joyleemorr]

Look at that wonderful young face, and already a master musician!

[varghapay]

million thanks for sharing.

[Lacrimosus]

3:07 is terrible!! I fell from my chair !!!

[stlivermore]

Terrible in a wonderfully divine sort of way.

[jkai0025]

gorgeous...

[wotanwag]

ABSOLUTELY GENIOUS!

[HARMONICO101]

As a random piece of trivia: Did you know that this recording was playing when Hannibal Lector assaults/eats his guards and escapes in "The Silence of the Lambs"?

[NatteGuilty]

That was the sound theme of the film, but I read the book, and I read that Lecter's favourite music was the Goldber Variatons by Gould^^...But he loved the Two-and Three part Inventions also by gould...^^ As me...:D But I think the english suites R fantastic too...I Love Them...Bach and Gloud too.Perfect. Simply Perfect. ^_^

[marydemello]

i knew that.

[rayhugg]

The best music has to offer - from both a content and performance criteria. Sublime and beautiful, can convert anyone to a classical music lover.

[alborada777]

J.S. Bach and G. Gould: a divine combination.

[northicekate]

Thank you Glenn for YOUR reasons to re-record Bach's Goldberg Variations.

[lorrieatLDP]

This is definitely my favorite recording of Gould - he was just such a tremendous talent!

[umeshuumeko]

SO BEAUTIFUL