Re: Bach Toccata's

[John Hill <jphill@home.com>]

Andrew Lance wrote:

> I just purchased Glenn's recording of Bach's Toccata's, because I
> am learning the D Minor (BWV 913).  Is it just me, or are Gould's
> tempo's relatively unorthodox?   It seems to me, especially in the D
> Minor and the D Major, that the tempo's are excessivly slow.
> Nonetheless, Gould is my favorite player of Bach, and the
> counterpoint is brought out incredibly.  I just have never heard
> these toccata's performed by anybody else, so I don't know how
> the "mainstream" interpretation with regard to tempo's goes.

Greetings to Andrew and the Collective:

I can't speak to the performance aspects, 'cause I've never attempted any
of these pieces, but I really like these particular GG recordings.   I think
they represent some of the best *sounding* recordings done by GG & Kazdin
in the old Eaton Auditorium in Toronto.  By this point, they had really learned
this room (how to mic it and CD318, etc.).  Also, the recording gear (Ampex 1/4"
machines with Dolby A-type noise reduction) was pretty cutting-edge for that
time (mid-70s).  I would argue that, in many ways, the sonics on this set are
actually superior to the later digital releases.  I certainly prefer CD318,
even in
it's post-operative state, over the Yamaha GG used on the Goldbergs in '81.
(I know, I know....he was more interested in the *action*, but we don't really
listen to the action, do we?).

It's interesting to note that GG really *didn't* like these pieces much at all.
He was particularly critical of the fugues ("in need of a red editor's pen")
which he felt were very unwieldy precursors of GG's later masterworks
(like the Art of Fugue).  What can I say?  I really like these recordings and
I find the performances very convincing.  Even though some of the fugues
do seem to go on forever, GG brings a real vitality to them.  The slow parts,
on the other hand, have great drama and pathos.  Very musical and very
Gouldian!  A chacun son gout, mes amis.

cheers
jh