Goldberg Variations facts for kids
The Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 is a famous piece of music for keyboard instruments. It was written by the German composer Johann Sebastian Bach around 1741. This amazing work includes a main tune, called an aria, and then thirty different versions of it, called variations.
Contents
What are the Goldberg Variations?
This piece starts with a beautiful slow tune, the aria. Bach probably based this tune on an old French dance song. After the aria, you hear thirty unique variations. Each variation changes the original tune in a new and exciting way. But they all share the same basic musical ideas and structure.
The Story Behind the Music
People believe the Goldberg Variations were written for a special reason. A young musician named J. G. Goldberg was a student of Bach. Goldberg was a very skilled player, known as a virtuoso. He worked for a rich count named Count Keyserlingk. The count had trouble sleeping, so he asked Goldberg to play music for him at night. The Goldberg Variations were supposedly written to help the count fall asleep.
The Music's Structure
The Goldberg Variations are built around the same basic musical ideas. Even though each of the thirty variations sounds different, they all use the same underlying harmonies (the way notes fit together) and structure as the first aria. This makes the whole piece feel connected.
The work ends with a fun part called a quodlibet. A quodlibet is a humorous mix of two or more popular tunes played at the same time. It's like a musical joke!
Playing the Goldberg Variations
Today, the Goldberg Variations are played on different instruments. They are often performed on the harpsichord, which is the instrument Bach would have used. They are also very popular to play on the piano. Many musicians and listeners find this work to be beautiful and complex. It shows Bach's incredible skill and imagination in music.
Images for kids
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Title page of the Goldberg Variations (first edition)
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First 8 bars of the fourth variation.
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First four bars of Variation 5.
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The first section of Variation 10.
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The first three bars of Variation 21
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The first four bars of Variation 23
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The last four bars of the first section of Variation 28
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The Quodlibet as it appears in the first edition
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Haussmann's portrait of Bach depicts him holding the manuscript to BWV 1076, which is also the thirteenth canon in the Goldberg Canon cycle.
