Jan 11 (Var 2)

I had fun with this today. I found something! It's not like it's super-secret or anything, but I'm engaging with this music in a different way than I every have before. I'm already glad I'm doing this project, and knowing that you're reading and listening along is making it even more fulfilling!

So, check this out:

I circled the notes. Like I said, it's not like they're hidden or anything. But they stand alone, too, and it's lovely even without any of the 16th notes. So now I've decided I need to try to bring that out especially clearly. Not happening yet, since...

When I started working on the second half tonight, I recognized my handwriting, and marks that I'd made. But I absolutely did not recognize *any* of the notes. So, it felt like starting from scratch on the second half. It'll probably sound that way, too XD

On the subject of bringing things out subtlely, I want to reiterate that this piece was originally written for harpsichord. A harpsichord works by plucking the string with a quill. I guess there must be some ability for stylistic interpretation on a harpsichord; you can certainly pluck a guitar string in many different ways. But there's no doubt that the piano I'm playing this on is light-years beyond the expressive power of an old-timey harpsichord.

This sounds like it might be a good thing - hey, if Bach didn't put in any dynamic markings, then the performer doesn't have to think about it, right? Wrong. Since the piano can still make them, I still need to think about dynamics, even if my goal is to emulate the evenness of a harpsichord. It's actually quite difficult to play every note exactly the same. 

But if you'll recall from Variation 1, I'm not trying to emulate a harpsichord anyway. In that piece, I was playing with legato and staccato techniques, which aren't available to a harpsichord. Likewise, my goal isn't to play all the notes at the same volume either. There are things that the best pianists can do, to bring out lines within lines, that I would love to be able to emulate. My favorite for that technique is easily Nelson Freire's recording (here) of Chopin's 3rd Sonata and Op 25 Etudes. If you want to know more, come over sometime and we'll listen with the sheet music open and I'll show you what I mean.

OK, based on all this fun discussion the following recording will probably be a let-down. Enjoy anyway! I'm starting to feel pretty good about the first half of this variation.