Bach’s Goldberg Variations have come to represent one of the iconic peaks of western music, firing the imagination not simply of keyboard players. Violinist Rachel Podger had the idea of commissioning an arrangement of the work for her Brecon Baroque ensemble from Chad Kelly during lockdown and its initial outing was online in 2020. Their concert at the festival’s home venue of Theatr Brycheiniog – coinciding with its release on disc – created a buzz of expectation, as well as curiosity at how a beloved masterpiece might sound translated from two-manual harpsichord to a lineup of strings, flute, oboe, bassoon and harpsichord.
Kelly’s concern to be faithful to the individual quality of the baroque instruments as much as to the particular characteristics of each variation realised a variety of colour as well as mood. His version was understandably tailored to Podger’s mix of expressivity and virtuosity, so it was her solo violin that introduced the Aria with simple harpsichord accompaniment. Over the course of the 30 variations, the moments when in her hands the gossamer threads of figuration and singing lines sounded wholly authentic were always notable. The variations foregrounding the wind instruments had the transparency of Bach’s two or three part inventions and those based on dance-forms a joyful lightness, with the minor mode variations 15, 21 and 25 – the latter deemed the “black pearl” by Wanda Landowska – carrying a haunting beauty. Harpsichordist Marcin Świątkiewicz had to wait till the penultimate variation for his bit of limelight, the following Quodlibet nicely exuberant. It flowed straight into the return of the opening Aria given by the full ensemble, thus achieving the requisite circularity but now with a celebratory warmth.
The overall gain here was the clarity with which the intricacy and inventiveness of Bach’s contrapuntal writing emerged. Against this, given that the variations are not on the aria but rather its chaconne-like bass line and harmonic implications, the textures sometimes lost a certain sense of groundedness. Yet, while the theatre acoustic could not match the resonance of the church where they made the recording, the intimacy and quiet vibrancy of live performance made it memorable.
• Brecon Baroque festival ends tonight
