Bach’s Goldberg Variations consists of an aria and 30 dazzling variations. The opening aria is a highly ornamented Sarabande.
Melodic contour is wonderfully crafted as Bach explores a descending
five-note pattern in a typically French style. However, from the first
variation it becomes clear that melody is not the theme. Instead Bach
produces variations on the bass line and its chord progression. In other
words, it is a harmonic universe that Bach explores.
The thirty
variations are generally divided into three groups: dance, canon and
arabesque. Every third variation in the set is a canon that increases by
its intervallic answer, beginning at the unison until Variation 27
which is a canon at the ninth. This final canon is particularly
impressive as Bach leaves out the bass line, leaving a ‘pure’ canon
between the upper voices. Such a feat is in itself a contrapuntal
exercise in genius; more so as these variations are not heavy with
cerebral skill, but instead, dance with sparkling lightness.
Tōru Takemitsu composed his Rain Tree Sketch II
in 1992, in memory of Olivier Messiaen, the French composer who was a
strong influence on Takemitsu. The title of the work was probably
inspired by a quotation from a novel by Kenzaburo Oe, Atama no ii, Ame no Ki:
“it was named the ‘rain tree’, for its abundant foliage continued to
let fall rain drops from the previous night’s shower until the following
midday. Its hundreds of thousands of tiny, finger-like leaves store up
moisture, whereas other trees dry out at once.” The work is a dreamy
meditation on the flow of life, and was Takemitsu’s last piano piece.
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