Goldberg 1.5

The Goldberg Variations is a Baroque piece still played, acclaimed and discussed today, regarding interpretational issues as well as its origin and structure: Is Glenn Gould’s interpretation “correct” even though it is not traditional in its execution? What tempo should the aria have? Did Count Kaiserling suffer from what we today would call insomnia? Why did Johann Sebastian Bach create so few pieces with variations, and is it justifiable to rearrange such a conscientiously composed piece at all?

In 2015, Kondens received a substantial endowment from The Swedish Arts Council: A commission of five new pieces by five different composers, and the project was called Goldberg 1.5. The concept was to let the composers be inspired by the originals and then go on to create their own interpretations. The new variations are presented side-by-side with the originals, integrating with them and creating a new composition together. The driving force behind this project is curiosity, how these variations, created by female and male composers with various musical backgrounds, whose lifetimes may beare separated by centuries, would be perceived by audiences, composers, and by us.

Knowing that this music from a distant era is, due to its beauty, still sought-out today is impressive. The fact that these new pieces bear the imprint of history increases their presence and relevance. This was our mission, to celebrate music and its profound impact across time, age and style.

Our versions are not a remix, where old and new material are fused together, creating a hybrid. A more apt description is to call them a time-specific collage where the separate parts are gathered together and displayed in the same frame. We hope that the interplay between the versions, the impact of history and the present moment, along with placing the original versions in a new context, will provide listeners with a sense of timelessness.

The five Swedish composers who honored us with their compositions are Daniel Hjorth, Ida Lundén, Mattias Petersson, Jan Sandström and Lisa Ullén.

My Eklund and Lisa Oscarsson (Kondens) July 2017