Goldberg Variations, BWV 988

1. Aria

   Aria

   • Sarabande
   • 3/4
   • G major

   The French style of ornamentation suggests that the ornaments are supposed to be parts of the melody; however, some performers (for example Wilhelm Kempff on piano) omit some or all ornaments and present the aria unadorned.

2. Variation 1

   Variatio 1. a 1 Clav.

   • Polonaise-like (Peter Williams)
   • 3/4
   • G major

   This sprightly variation contrasts markedly with the slow, contemplative mood of the aria. The rhythm in the right hand forces the emphasis on the second beat, giving rise to syncopation from bars 1 to 7. Hands cross at bar 13 from the upper register to the lower, bringing back this syncopation for another two bars.

3. Variation 2

   Variatio 2. a 1 Clav.

   • Three-part counterpoint
   • 2/4
   • G major

   This is a simple three-part contrapuntal piece in 2/4 time, two voices engage in constant motivic interplay over an incessant bass line. Each section has an alternate ending to be played on the first and second repeat.

4. Variation 3

   Variatio 3. Canone all'Unisono. a 1 Clav.

   • Canon at the unison
   • 12/8
   • G major

   The first of the regular canons, this is a canon at the unison: the follower begins on the same note as the leader, a bar later. As with all canons of the Goldberg Variations (except the 27th variation, canon at the ninth), there is a supporting bass line. The time signature of 12/8 and the many sets of triplets suggest a kind of a simple dance.

5. Variation 4

   Variatio 4. a 1 Clav.

   • Dance: passepied-like
   • 3/8
   • G major

   Like the passepied, a Baroque dance movement, this variation is in 3/8 time with a preponderance of quaver rhythms. Bach uses close but not exact imitation: the musical pattern in one part reappears a bar later in another (sometimes inverted).

6. Variation 5

   Variatio 5. a 1 ovvero 2 Clav.

   • Hand-crossing arabesque
   • 3/4
   • G major

   This is the first of the hand-crossing, two-part variations; the title means "for one or two manuals". The movement is written in 3/4 time.

7. Variation 6

   Variatio 6. Canone alla Seconda. a 1 Clav.

   • Canon at the second
   • 3/8
   • G major

   The sixth variation is a canon at the second: the follower starts a major second higher than the leader. The piece is based on a descending scale and is in 3/8 time. Kirkpatrick describes this piece as having "an almost nostalgic tenderness". Each section has an alternate ending to be played on the first and second repeat.

8. Variation 7

   Variatio 7. a 1 ovvero 2 Clav. al tempo di Giga

   • Dance: gigue (al tempo di Giga)
   • 6/8
   • G major

   The variation is in 6/8 meter, suggesting several possible Baroque dances. In 1974, when scholars discovered Bach's own copy of the first printing of the Goldberg Variations, they noted that over this variation Bach had added the heading al tempo di Giga. But the implications of this discovery for modern performance have turned out to be less clear than was at first assumed.

9. Variation 8

   Variatio 8. a 2 Clav.

   • Hand-crossing arabesque
   • 3/4
   • G major

   This is another two-part hand-crossing variation, in 3/4 time. The French style of hand-crossing such as is found in the clavier works of François Couperin is employed, with both hands playing at the same part of the keyboard, one above the other. This is relatively easy to perform on a two-manual harpsichord, but quite difficult to do on a piano.

10. Variation 9

    Variatio 9. Canone alla Terza. a 1 Clav.

    • Canon at the third
    • 4/4
    • G major

    This is a canon at the third, in 4/4 time. The supporting bass line is slightly more active than in the previous canons.

11. Variation 10

    Variatio 10. Fughetta. a 1 Clav.

    • Fughetta in four voices
    • 2/2
    • G major

    Variation 10 is a four-voice fughetta, with a four-bar subject heavily decorated with ornaments and somewhat reminiscent of the opening aria's melody.

12. Variation 11

    Variatio 11. a 2 Clav.

    • Hand-crossing arabesque (toccata)
    • 12/16
    • G major

    This is a virtuosic two-part toccata in 12/16 time. Specified for two manuals, it is largely made up of various scale passages, arpeggios and trills, and features much hand-crossing of different kinds.

13. Variation 12

    Variatio 12. Canone alla Quarta in moto contrario

    • Canon at the fourth, in contrary motion
    • 3/4
    • G major

    This is a canon at the fourth in 3/4 time, of the inverted variety: the follower enters in the second bar in contrary motion to the leader.

14. Variation 13

    Variatio 13. a 2 Clav.

    • Ornate aria for the right hand (sarabande)
    • 3/4
    • G major

    This variation is a slow, gentle and richly decorated sarabande in 3/4 time. Most of the melody is written out using thirty-second notes, and ornamented with a few appoggiaturas (more frequent in the second section) and a few mordents. Throughout the piece, the melody is in one voice, and in bars 16 and 24 an interesting effect is produced by the use of an additional voice.

15. Variation 14

    Variatio 14. a 2 Clav.

    • Hand-crossing arabesque (toccata)
    • 3/4
    • G major

    This is a rapid two-part hand-crossing toccata in 3/4 time, with many trills and other ornamentation. It is specified for two manuals and features large jumps between registers.

16. Variation 15

    Variatio 15. Canone alla Quinta. a 1 Clav.

    • Canon at the fifth, in contrary motion
    • 2/4
    • G minor
    • Andante

    This is a canon at the fifth in 2/4 time. Like Variation 12, it is in contrary motion with the leader appearing inverted in the second bar. This is the first of the three variations in G minor, and its melancholic mood contrasts sharply with the playfulness of the previous variation.

17. Variation 16

    Variatio 16. Ouverture. a 1 Clav.

    • French overture
    • 2/2, then 3/8
    • G major

    The entire set of variations can be seen as being divided into two halves, clearly marked by this grand French overture, commencing with particularly emphatic opening and closing chords. It consists of a slow prelude with dotted rhythms with a following fugue-like contrapuntal section.

18. Variation 17

    Variatio 17. a 2 Clav.

    • Hand-crossing arabesque (toccata)
    • 3/4
    • G major

    This variation is another two-part virtuosic toccata. Peter Williams sees echoes of Antonio Vivaldi and Domenico Scarlatti here. Specified for two manuals, the piece features hand-crossing. It is in 3/4 time and usually played at a moderately fast tempo. Rosalyn Tureck is one of the very few performers who recorded slow interpretations of the piece.

19. Variation 18

    Variatio 18. Canone alla Sesta. a 1 Clav.

    • Canon at the sixth
    • 2/2
    • G major

    This is a canon at the sixth in 2/2 time. The canonic interplay in the upper voices features many suspensions.

20. Variation 19

    Variatio 19. a 1 Clav.

    • Dance in three voices
    • 3/8
    • G major

    This is a dance-like three-part variation in 3/8 time. The same sixteenth note figuration is continuously employed and variously exchanged between each of the three voices. This variation incorporates the rhythmic model of variation 13 (complementary exchange of quarter and sixteenth notes) with variations 1 and 2 (syncopations).

21. Variation 20

    Variatio 20. a 2 Clav.

    • Hand-crossing arabesque (toccata)
    • 3/4
    • G major

    This variation is a virtuosic two-part toccata in 3/4 time. Specified for two manuals, it involves rapid hand-crossing. The piece consists mostly of variations on the texture introduced during its first eight bars, where one hand plays a string of eighth notes and the other accompanies by plucking sixteenth notes after each eighth note.

22. Variation 21

    Variatio 21. Canone alla Settima

    • Canon at the seventh
    • 4/4
    • G minor

    The second of the three minor key variations, variation 21 has a tone that is somber or even tragic, which contrasts starkly with variation 20. The bass line here is one of the most eloquent found in the variations, to which Bach adds chromatic intervals that provide tonal shadings.

23. Variation 22

    Variatio 22. a 1 Clav. alla breve

    • Alla breve, four-part imitation
    • 2/2
    • G major

    This variation features four-part writing with many imitative passages and its development in all voices but the bass is much like that of a fugue. The only specified ornament is a trill which is performed on a whole note and which lasts for two bars (11 and 12).

24. Variation 23

    Variatio 23. a 2 Clav.

    • Hand-crossing arabesque
    • 3/4
    • G major

    Another lively two-part virtuosic variation for two manuals, in 3/4 time.

25. Variation 24

    Variatio 24. Canone all'Ottava. a 1 Clav.

    • Canon at the octave
    • 9/8
    • G major

    This variation is a canon at the octave, in 9/8 time. The leader is answered both an octave below and an octave above; it is the only canon of the variations in which the leader alternates between voices in the middle of a section.

26. Variation 25

    Variatio 25. a 2 Clav. (Adagio)

    • Ornate aria for the right hand (“black pearl”)
    • 3/4
    • G minor
    • Adagio

    Variation 25 is the third and last variation in G minor; it is marked adagio in Bach's own copy and is in 3/4 time. The melody is written out predominantly in sixteenth and thirty-second notes, with many chromaticisms. This variation generally lasts longer than any other piece of the set.

27. Variation 26

    Variatio 26. a 2 Clav.

    • Hand-crossing arabesque (toccata)
    • 18/16 and 3/4
    • G major

    In sharp contrast with the introspective and passionate nature of the previous variation, this piece is another virtuosic two-part toccata, joyous and fast-paced. Underneath the rapid arabesques, this variation is basically a sarabande. Two time signatures are used, 18/16 for the incessant melody written in sixteenth notes and 3/4 for the accompaniment in quarter and eighth notes; during the last five bars, both hands play in 18/16.

28. Variation 27

    Variatio 27. Canone alla Nona. a 2 Clav.

    • Canon at the ninth, no bass line
    • 6/8
    • G major

    Variation 27 is the last canon of the piece, at the ninth and in 6/8 time. This is the only canon where two manuals are specified not due to hand-crossing difficulties, and the only pure canon of the work, because it does not have a bass line.

29. Variation 28

    Variatio 28. a 2 Clav.

    • Hand-crossing toccata with written-out trills
    • 3/4
    • G major

    This variation is a two-part toccata in 3/4 time that employs a great deal of hand crossing. Trills are written out using thirty-second notes and are present in most of the bars. The piece begins with a pattern in which each hand successively picks out a melodic line while also playing trills.

30. Variation 29

    Variatio 29. a 1 ovvero 2 Clav.

    • Chords and shared arpeggios
    • 3/4
    • G major

    This variation consists mostly of heavy chords alternating with sections of brilliant arpeggios shared between the hands. It is in 3/4 time. A rather grand variation, it adds an air of resolution after the lofty brilliance of the previous variation. Glenn Gould states that variations 28 and 29 present the only case of "motivic collaboration or extension between successive variations."

31. Variation 30

    Variatio 30. a 1 Clav. Quodlibet

    • Quodlibet: popular tunes over the bass
    • 4/4
    • G major

    The final variation is titled after the quodlibet tradition, in which multiple popular songs are played at once or in succession.

32. Aria da capo

    Aria da Capo è Fine

    • Repeat of the Aria
    • 3/4
    • G major

The sentences in italics under the players are from Wikipedia, “Goldberg Variations” — CC BY-SA 4.0 — the first paragraph of the section on each variation, whole sentences only; see the article for the full text and authors. Revision of 2026-05-16.