THE GOLDBERG VARIATIONS (Part Two)

Commentary No. 59 of The Bach Cantatas

Variation 4. Jaunty. Wide intervals. Metre 3/8, thus one pulse per bar. A Baroque dance, a passepied, of four voices, which when combined create attractive and likeable harmonies in a four-part texture, the progression of the 32 note bass line affably insistent throughout. The theme employs syncopation, immediately apparent from the first bar forward, a…