Goldberg Variations 988

Bach's Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 form the final part of his monumental ClavierÜbung (Keyboard Practices) series and appeared in print in 1741. The work exploits the full technical and musical resources of the two-manual harpsichord and it's player. Within the framework of it's thirty elaborate variations on a 32-bar ground bass, the work presents a dazzling compendium of keyboard styles, from learned counterpoint through to the most audacious and modern abstract writing for an instrument with two independent keyboards. The present recording is one the final volumes of Peter Watchorn's complete survey of Bach's entire harpsichord output.