BWV 988 Goldberg Variations 3 (20. a 2 Clav.) by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
 The Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, is a musical composition for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach, consisting of an aria and a set of 30 variations. First published in 1741, it is named after Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, who may also have been the first performer of the work. |
Notes
Baroque Era. Drop D. 3/4 time signature. key of E minor. 4 pages 31 bars. Arr: Jószef Eötvös
This variation is a virtuosic two-part toccata in 3/4 time. Specified for two manuals, it involves rapid hand-crossing. The piece consists mostly of variations on the texture introduced during its first eight bars, where one hand plays a string of eighth notes and the other accompanies by plucking sixteenth notes after each eighth note. To demonstrate this, here are the first two bars of the first section.
Piano Demo (Glenn Gould) (1981 Version)
Guitar Pro Playthrough