#BachUpsideDown Variation 27 from Bach's Goldberg Variations, first as written, then upside down (i.e. chromatically inverted). Variation 27 is an outlier. It's the ninth and last canon of the set, but it's the only one that doesn't have a third voice freely accompanying the two canonic voices. So, in this variation, Bach has the extraordinary challenge of having to fully express the harmonic structure of the Aria with only two voices, constrained to the hilt: the second voice must repeat the first a diatonic ninth away, a bar later. In many ways, it isn't even two voices, but just one, with a displaced echo of itself. Also, the direction of the canon changes in this variation: in the first half, the answer occurs a ninth above, in the second half a ninth below. That Bach manages to navigate these tight constraints so elegantly, with every melody making sense and all the counterpoint working so well, is amazing. But you wouldn't notice it, because he makes it sound so easy.
I'm performing Goldberg Variations / Variations Feb 21st to celebrate the completion of the #BachUpsideDown project. $5 livestream tickets are available at https://instantseats.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.event&eventID=F9D80096-F81B-AC27-3E27ED953E2AB57B
Sheet music and thoughts on the #BachUpsideDown project at http://dantepfer.com/bachupsidedown
Full #BachUpsideDown playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUzNnspxG1f7AjeMgZ_1nE0D6TH9zrH9R
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