Bach. Goldberg Variations. Variatio 22

Description

Variation 22 features four-part writing with many imitative passages and its development in all voices. The only specified ornament is a trill which is performed on a whole note and which lasts for two bars (11 and 12).
The ground bass on which the entire set of variations is built is heard very explicitly in this variation due to the simplicity of the bass voice.

The first beat is often consisting in the prolongation of a note of the previous bar. These constant syncopations give to the piece a dramatic character, especially because of the imitations. I find this as one of the most poetic variations, for the beauty and simplicity of the melody.