Bach. Goldberg Variations. Variatio 5

Description

This is the first of the hand-crossing, two-part variations. It is in 3/4 time. A melodic line written predominantly in sixteenth notes is accompanied by another melody with longer note values, which features very wide leaps.
One hand is constantly moving back and forth between high and low registers while the other hand stays in the middle of the keyboard, playing the fast passages.

The tempo I used in this variation is much slower than the common Glenn-Gould-like performances. The reason for this, is in the proportions and the indications that Bach put in this music. Each Goldberg is superimposable to the others, only if played at a certain speed; moreover this is the only tempo that allows to play all the embellishments exactly as written by Bach (which are mostly or totally absent in the faster performances).