The original title of the Goldberg Variations is "Aria and Various Variations for Clavicembalo with 2-step keyboard". This time, I decided to sequence the main theme of this piece "Aria" on the harpsichord.
Nowadays, since Glengrood, the majority of cases are probably played on the piano. On the piano, the strength of the sound has a great influence on the composition of a piece. The harpsichord has a structure in which the strings are plucked with the plectrum, so it is almost impossible to play the notes with any strength or weakness. Furthermore, it is not possible to pull the sound like legato. In other words, the important elements of sound production are considerably restricted. Therefore, I decided to try playing the harpsichord before playing the piano. In this case, I used four tracks, which I considered to be four voices.
The sound library was a harpsichord supplied with Modartt's Pianoteq. They modeled the famous instrument Hans Ruckers II le Jeune (1624). The reference pitch was 415 Hz to match the Baroque period, and the tuning was based on the Werckmeister rather than the mean scale, as my advisor's suggestion said that the chords sounded better.
In the original piece, there are instructions to play on the lower manual or to use the upper manual depending on the variation. Apparently, the sound quality is different between the lower and upper manual because the position of the plectrum on the string is different. In addition, since it is divided into two manuals, unlike the piano, crossing or close interaction between the hands seems to be easier. This must be very helpful for piano players. Fortunately, this sound library has both lower and upper patches. (Actually, there are even three tiers an octave higher.)
Now, there are no indications of which manual to use in "Aria." However, my advisor suggested that my performance of the repetition of A→A' and B→B' is tasteless, so I have changed the quality of the sound and sequenced in the upper part of the aria after the repetition. What do you think?
Song title: Goldberg Varriations "ARIA"
Sound source: Modartt Harpsichords
Audio file format: mp3 (Stream directly on your PC)