Description & Musical Analysis
Bach’s Goldberg Aria in G major is the theme that frames the variations. This harpsichord MIDI plays its 32 written measures once, without the score’s section repeats.
How to Play & Trivia
The theme before the variations
The Goldberg Variations begin with an aria whose measured bass and ornamented upper line give the later variations their foundation. Bach’s score is written for harpsichord or clavichord in G major and 3/4. This page contains the Aria alone, not the full set of thirty variations.
One pass through the score
The harpsichord MIDI lasts 1 minute and 36 seconds and contains 418 note events across separate upper and lower parts. It plays the 32 written measures once. The score marks both sections for repetition, but those repeats are not expanded in this MIDI, so the playback is shorter than a performance that observes them.
Score and source
The score and MIDI come from the [Mutopia Project’s Goldberg Variations, BWV 988](https://www.mutopiaproject.org/cgibin/piece-info.cgi?id=979), based on the Bach-Gesellschaft edition. The contribution is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0. [Read the CC BY-SA 3.0 license](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).
Available Instruments: Piano (Grand, Upright, Electric), Synthesizer, Organ, Guitar, 12-String Guitar, Viola Caipira, Ukulele, Bass (4 and 5 strings), Violin, Viola, Cello, Harp, Kalimba, Marimba, Xylophone, Vibraphone, Glockenspiel, Recorder, Flute, Ocarina, Saxophone, Clarinet, and Trumpet.
