Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
Performer: Blandine Verlet
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Naïve
Catalogue: V5302
Release: 2012
Size: 542 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Variations Goldberg, BWV 988
01. Aria I
02. Variation I
03. Variation II
04. Variation III
05. Variation IV
06. Variation V
07. Variation VI
08. Variation VII
09. Variation VIII
10. Variation IX
11. Variation X
12. Variation XI
13. Variation XII
14. Variation XIII
15. Variation XIV
16. Variation XV
17. Variation XVI
18. Variation XVII
19. Variation XVIII
20. Variation XIX
21. Variation XX
22. Variation XXI
23. Variation XXII
24. Variation XXIII
25. Variation XXIV
26. Variation XXV
27. Variation XXVI
28. Variation XXVII
29. Variation XXVIII
30. Variation XXIX
31. Variation XXX
32. Aria II
Blandine Verlet, the noted French harpsichordist, studied with Ruggiero Gerlin and Ralph Kirkpatrick. She began recording in the late 1970s for Philips, switching to the Astree label in the 1990s. Her recordings range from J.S. Bach’s keyboard works to Froberger to lesser known composers such as Louis Couperin and Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre. This, her second recording of the Goldbergs, has been called “one of the finest harpsichord versions in the catalogue.”
With violinist Gerard Poulet she has recorded early violin sonatas by Mozart, using the older Baroque keyboard instruments rather than a fortepiano or modern piano. Verlet has also worked with flautist Stephen Preston and viola da gambist Jordi Savall. Her playing is noted for her control and restraint in not letting emotion carry her away. Recently recommended by Diapason as their ‘Desert Island’ Goldbergs, now at mid price.
Blandine Verlet picks her way gracefully along the tangled paths of counterpoint in Bach’s Goldberg Variations. She plays as one might gather wildflowers: dreamily, delicately, and fully savouring the aroma of her 1751 Hemsch harpsichord. She breathes in time with a free and fantastical rhythm. The opening aria starts with a dizzying and urgent desire for intoxication. The brilliant, personal ornamentation perfects this introduction – a delicious act of sacrilege, with an impatient, rapid tempo that is rarely heard in this work.
Nicolas Bartholomée’s sound recording reveals the marvellously contrasting sounds created by the Hemsch harpsichord under Blandine Verlet’s slightly eccentric playing. This variations are like the shimmering eddies of a stream in a mill-race: they swirl and shift, but they dazzle too. One could almost forget Bach’s mathematical architecture! But Verlet’s choice to follow the intuitions of her poet’s heart isn’t a disservice to the work: on the contrary. Her right hand’s feverish energy announces the transformation of the aria through its variations, thanks to the magical ingredients of counterpoint: rhythmical dislocation, harmonic dispersal, melodic condensation. This vibrant interpretation puts the spotlight on the human dimension of this music.
Among the great moments in this performance, particular mention must go to Variation XV in G minor, which distils an absolutely intolerable anguish: a veritable instrumental Erbarm’ dich, whose final, drawn-out, piercing D note is most memorable. Later on, Variation XVIII (Canone alla sexta) exhales an enveloping serenity, a rare quality even for pianists. Variation XXV is played rapidly and conceived broadly, rooted in a harmonic tension brought out by poignant “rubatos”. All of Blandine Verlet’s artistry is brought to bear on this recording. Unforgettable.