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Product Description
Review
Catrin Finch's debut on the venerable Yellow Label offers an accomplished performance of her own transcription for harp of Bach's timeless Goldberg Variations.
First published in 1741 as an aria with 30 variations and originally composed for a two-manual harpsichord, the ever-amenable Goldbergs have been much and often treated (and occasionally mistreated) to a dizzying array of arrangements for everything, it seems, from jazz trio to woodwind ensemble, from accordion to chamber orchestra and, of course, modern piano forte.
Finch's arrangement is the first to transcribe all 32 sections for the concert harp, although the framing Aria has had at least one previous incarnation for the instrument, courtesy of Andrew Lawrence-King in 1998.
Using Canadian maverick Glenn Gould's recordings of the work as an initial point of reference - a controversial choice in itself - Finch approaches the work with an appreciable sensitivity for its cut-crystal brittleness and deceptively delicate simplicity.
Dividing the work into three sections - the first culminating with the first minor key variation, No. 15; the third beginning with the bright two-part toccata of No. 26 - Finch offers a moderately paced account that comes in at just under 64 minutes.
She adroitly side-steps what would seem to be the harp's principal shortcomings compared to a keyboard - the absence of a sustaining pedal and the lack of a damping device - with a nimbleness that quietly cossets and coaxes with its straightforward hand-for-hand transcription.
The work's several hurdles are cleared with clean, crisply articulated playing that eschews showy effect and strives for colour and tone. Which may be where some are inclined to step away from this performance. If the harp is an acquired taste for you, there is much here that might entice and encourage you to stay, but the relatively limited tonal palette will not be one of them.
Finch proves a dexterous negotiator of the fifth variation's hand-crossing gymnastics (partly by choosing to measurably slow down its rapid pace) and, most conspicuously, the teemingly chromatic, darkly lustrous texture of the Black Pearl variation (No. 25). The two renditions of the Aria are sublimely pristine and intimate affairs. --Michael Quinn
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CD Description
Catrin Finch, former Harpist to the Prince of Wales, has become one of her instrument’s foremost exponents. In bringing the harp to new audiences through performances and TV appearances, her energy and enthusiasm (as well as virtuosity and dedication to her instrument) has been endless. An appearance on BBC4, where she presented a definitive history of the instrument, confirmed her status as a star personality, as well as a star performer. On Bach, J.S.: Goldberg Variations, Catrin tackles brand new arrangements of Bach's work for solo harp. The clear sound of the harp brings this intricate and beautiful music to life in a delicate and unique fashion.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
The scholarship and technique involved in this performance are astounding. The music is beautiful, haunting and challenging by turns.
But I am very disappointed with the final product. The better the system that you play this through the worse it sounds. It's full and dense over the internet sampling download, but oppressive and distorted when purchased and played through a set of £1000+ B&W speakers!
DG have attempted to provide a luminous and full bodied sound to Catrin's harp, but they appear to have over-saturated the recording at a number of points and the mike placements / processing have ended up with a two dimensional sound, when artful recording techniques can provide an illusion of depth. For exemplary stringed instrument recording I would refer the reader to Julian Bream's wonderful early '80s recordings for RCA of spanish classics by Albeniz and Granados.
Bach would be fascinated and fully supportive of the musical endeavour here and would be bowled over to hear the music in a room with no sign of a musical instrument.
But DG have failed to use musical recording techniques. I wonder if Naxos might have done better with a simpler method.
Five stars for the music and 1 star for the production; that averages out at three stars - but doesn't tell the real story!
But I am very disappointed with the final product. The better the system that you play this through the worse it sounds. It's full and dense over the internet sampling download, but oppressive and distorted when purchased and played through a set of £1000+ B&W speakers!
DG have attempted to provide a luminous and full bodied sound to Catrin's harp, but they appear to have over-saturated the recording at a number of points and the mike placements / processing have ended up with a two dimensional sound, when artful recording techniques can provide an illusion of depth. For exemplary stringed instrument recording I would refer the reader to Julian Bream's wonderful early '80s recordings for RCA of spanish classics by Albeniz and Granados.
Bach would be fascinated and fully supportive of the musical endeavour here and would be bowled over to hear the music in a room with no sign of a musical instrument.
But DG have failed to use musical recording techniques. I wonder if Naxos might have done better with a simpler method.
Five stars for the music and 1 star for the production; that averages out at three stars - but doesn't tell the real story!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I already had different versions of these variations on a single theme along with Bach's other keyboard works, mostly written as studies in counterpoint but now generally regarded as worthy of performance in their own right. So why would I buy another? Apart from the fact that Catrin Finch was brought up in the same village I used to live in, I was curious as to how this music would sound on the harp. Originally written with the harpsichord in mind, the keyboard pieces are generally performed today on piano, though The Art of the Fugue, with no instrument specified, also has a good modern representation for string quartet.
As well as being played straight, the pieces are often transcribed as with the renditions by Glenn Gould, hailed by some as brilliant and by others as eccentric. I have Gould's Goldberg as well as his recordings of other pieces, my favourite being the Two- and Three-part Inventions, in spite of the fact that you can hear him humming along and speaking to the piano as he plays! Finch follows Gould in transcribing the Goldberg Variations for her instrument, allowing her to adapt performance to suit its peculiarities. This works well for some variations and less well for others. (You can listen to the Aria on You-Tube)
So I'm glad to have added this to the range of Bach renditions in my collection. It remains to be seen how often it will return to my music player once I've adapted to the novelty of it. Those performances that do are the ones that, over time, seem to lead to greater depths of engagement with this very deep music. I listen to them for the way they unravel a complexity that never fully resolves itself.
That they reach real depths that are hard to explain is a view shared by those who have much more musical knowledge than I. Glenn Gould said:
It is, in short, music which observes neither end nor beginning, music with neither real climax nor real resolution, music which, has unity through intuitive perception, unity born of craft and scrutiny, mellowed by mastery achieved, and revealed to us here, as so rarely in art, in the vision of subconscious design exulting upon a pinnacle of potency.
(original liner notes to his Goldberg Variations LP)
That's a view I had formed for myself before reading those liner notes. Few other musical pieces get anywhere near this exploration of the music of the spheres, though some of Schubert's piano works have a similar atmosphere of depth and engagement. These are grand claims and certainly not all artists realise them in their performances. Instant judgements are not useful in this respect, so I'll wait on time to know if Finch's journey from the opening aria to its restatement at the end gets anywhere near the best. For now - it's growing on me!
As well as being played straight, the pieces are often transcribed as with the renditions by Glenn Gould, hailed by some as brilliant and by others as eccentric. I have Gould's Goldberg as well as his recordings of other pieces, my favourite being the Two- and Three-part Inventions, in spite of the fact that you can hear him humming along and speaking to the piano as he plays! Finch follows Gould in transcribing the Goldberg Variations for her instrument, allowing her to adapt performance to suit its peculiarities. This works well for some variations and less well for others. (You can listen to the Aria on You-Tube)
So I'm glad to have added this to the range of Bach renditions in my collection. It remains to be seen how often it will return to my music player once I've adapted to the novelty of it. Those performances that do are the ones that, over time, seem to lead to greater depths of engagement with this very deep music. I listen to them for the way they unravel a complexity that never fully resolves itself.
That they reach real depths that are hard to explain is a view shared by those who have much more musical knowledge than I. Glenn Gould said:
It is, in short, music which observes neither end nor beginning, music with neither real climax nor real resolution, music which, has unity through intuitive perception, unity born of craft and scrutiny, mellowed by mastery achieved, and revealed to us here, as so rarely in art, in the vision of subconscious design exulting upon a pinnacle of potency.
(original liner notes to his Goldberg Variations LP)
That's a view I had formed for myself before reading those liner notes. Few other musical pieces get anywhere near this exploration of the music of the spheres, though some of Schubert's piano works have a similar atmosphere of depth and engagement. These are grand claims and certainly not all artists realise them in their performances. Instant judgements are not useful in this respect, so I'll wait on time to know if Finch's journey from the opening aria to its restatement at the end gets anywhere near the best. For now - it's growing on me!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Catrin Finch is a fantastic harpist - first heard live with James Galway playing the Mozart Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra. (available on DG 00289 477 6233)I have always enjoyed Glenn Gould's Goldberg Variations and was a little apprehensive as to whether they could be transcribed well for the harp. I think Catrin Finch has done an excellent job - in fact some variations sound better on the harp, bringing out the complexity of counterpoint with absolute clarity. The quality of both the playing and the sound reproduction is first class. Highly recommended.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Subtle sounds
Catrin Finch undoubtedly is among the foremost hapinists of our time. Her realisation of Bach's Goldberg Variations is an invaluable addition to the 180 or so different... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Prof Dr Max Tilzer
A great performance
The playing is reminiscent of Glenn Gould. It is clear, sharp, beautifully phrased, and entirely
without sentimentality. Read more
without sentimentality. Read more
Published 7 months ago by physics student
Fantastic
Something a little bit different. If you enjoy Bach, then the arrangement that Catrin Finch has made of these variations for her harp will give you a new listening experience. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Hugh Littlejohn
Bach revisité
Une très bonne adaptation d'un oeuvre plus que classique et qui n'a rien perdu par rapport à l'original, mais au contraire, qui je pense a gagné plus de... Read more
Published on 17 Nov 2009 by Thierry Bodart
Bach revisited
Impeccably played.
Great CD
If you know the Glenn Gould version this one will be a great surprise and a nice addition. Read more
Great CD
If you know the Glenn Gould version this one will be a great surprise and a nice addition. Read more
Published on 16 Oct 2009 by David B. Groenendijk
Catrin Finch: Bach Goldberg Variations
Lovely sensitive transcription beautifully played. The harp gives an intersting sound somewhere between piano and harpsichord, with neither the heaviness of piano nor the frailty... Read more
Published on 5 Oct 2009 by Madge Pelling
Catrin Finch,
I read a review in a newspaper about this CD and bought it on the recommendation. I'm glad I did, it's gorgeous. The sound of the harp is a delight and fits the music beautifully. Read more
Published on 5 April 2009 by M. E. Jenkins
a love letter to the sound of the harp
How the mighty have fallen. Catrin Finch may have got on the `Yellow Label', but the Deutsche Grammophon of old it ain't. Read more
Published on 3 April 2009 by Bernard Davis
Bach ardderchog.
A wonderful transcription and performance by an amazingly talented musician. Thanks once again Catrin, and looking forward to further recordings!!
Published on 30 Mar 2009 by TOUT PREST
Awesome. A veritable masterpiece.
Awesome! I caught an interview with Ms Finch on Radio 3, almost by accident; after hearing just one variation I knew I HAD to have this recording in my collection. Read more
Published on 2 Mar 2009 by Muso Phil
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