Romantic Bach

On Wednesday, I played my recital at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church here in Richmond. Afterwards, a pianist friend mentioned that my Bach was a little bit on the romantic side. (I played the C Major Prelude from WTC I, the C Minor Two-part Invention, and the Minuet in G which is actually by Petzold.)

As my friend clarified what she meant by Romantic, she mentioned my use of rubato and the fact that my hands were not always together. The ironic thing
is that my use of rubato was a result of me trying to play this music in a more idiomatic fashion. I was trying to articulate the flow of the music through rhythmic fluctuations, just like harpsichordists do.

Yesterday, I listened to Gustav Leonhardt playing Goldberg Variations to refresh my concept of how harpsichordists play. The rubato was there, but probably more subtle than mine. What's more, his hands weren't always together. Perhaps that's a natural outcome of dealing with the harpsichord action, but it certainly helps differentiate melodic lines and accompanimental parts when playing multiple dynamics simultaneously is not an option.

Maybe the problem arises when a performer uses dynamic changes along with rubato to highlight phrasing in Bach on the piano.

A fascinating take on Bach playing can be heard on Vladimir Feltsman's recording of Goldberg Variations which is a Musical Heritage Society recording. In addition to varying dynamics and articulation, Feltsman achieves variety through changing ornamentation, registration and "inter-switching voices." This inter-switching of voices involves crossing the hands so that the soprano and alto parts are heard below the tenor and bass parts. It's a real sonic spectacular, and very different from what is frequently expected in a Bach performance.