Re: Bach Toccata's

["Andrew Lance" <aklance@cyberhighway.net>]

> 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")

Yes, and with good reason.  The toccata's for harpsichord were 
some of the first large-scale pieces Bach wrote for that instrument, 
and as Gould rightly pointed out, they aren't very contrapuntal--that 
is, relative to the complexity Bach would compose with later in his 
life.  Speaking from a performance aspect, I find the voices in the 
fugues difficult to perpetuate forward, something that Gould didn't 
seem to have any problem with.  Because they are so harmonic, 
the horizontal aspect just isn't very strong.

On another note, does anybody know of some place on the Web 
that sells the the Glenn Gould Collection of video's by Sony?  I 
have the Goldberg Variations, and need to buy the rest!  Thanks.

Andrew