Blandine Verlet picks her way gracefully along the tangled paths of counterpoint in Bach's Goldberg Variations. She plays as one might gather wildflowers: dreamily, delicately, and fully savouring the aroma of her 1751 Hemsch harpsichord. She breathes in time with a free and fantastical rhythm. The opening aria starts with a dizzying and urgent desire for intoxication. The brilliant, personal ornamentation perfects this introduction – a delicious act of sacrilege, with an impatient, rapid tempo that is rarely heard in this work.
Nicolas Bartholomée's sound recording reveals the marvellously contrasting sounds created by the Hemsch harpsichord under Blandine Verlet's slightly eccentric playing. This variations are like the shimmering eddies of a stream in a mill-race: they swirl and shift, but they dazzle too. One could almost forget Bach's mathematical architecture! But Verlet's choice to follow the intuitions of her poet's heart isn’t a disservice to the work: on the contrary. Her right hand’s feverish energy announces the transformation of the aria through its variations, thanks to the magical ingredients of counterpoint: rhythmical dislocation, harmonic dispersal, melodic condensation. This vibrant interpretation puts the spotlight on the human dimension of this music.
Among the great moments in this performance, particular mention must go to Variation XV in G minor, which distils an absolutely intolerable anguish: a veritable instrumental Erbarm' dich, whose final, drawn-out, piercing D note is most memorable. Later on, Variation XVIII (Canone alla sexta) exhales an enveloping serenity, a rare quality even for pianists. Variation XXV is played rapidly and conceived broadly, rooted in a harmonic tension brought out by poignant "rubatos". All of Blandine Verlet's artistry is brought to bear on this recording. Unforgettable. © Elsa Siffert/Qobuz