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Sometimes you listen to a recording, and right away you feel it is going to be different. Some-times one simple chord is all it takes to give you that feeling. Joanne Camilleri’s recently-released CD of Bach’s Goldberg Variations is one such case.

This recording comes fast on the heels of Camilleri’s debut album In Bach’s Footsteps, which was released in 2013.

Despite that first recording being an excellent one, this one is in a different league altogether. Not only has Camilleri taken the risk of recording the same composer again, but she has also tackled only one single monumental work.

Much has been said about why Bach wrote the Goldberg Variations. The work is too long and complex for simple home entertainment, and it is unlikely that any patron would have commissioned something like it. The truest and most logical answer is simply “because he could”.

A work that is free from convention

Bach’s greatness lies not in the craftsmanship of his work, but in the universality of his language. There are works which he composed simply for the pure intellectual and artistic joy of it, and one can feel this in the Goldberg Variations.

This work is free from con-vention and where the composer is limited only by his aesthetic sensibility. It is to Camilleri’s credit that a work written almost 300 years ago can still sound fresh and relevant, and yet at the same time still sound like pure Bach.

The work is based on a short Aria (taken from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach) on which Bach creates a series of 30 variations. The variations are not on the actual melody itself but on its bass line. Camilleri manages to keep the sense of unity that is essential to this piece, so that no matter which variation you listen to you can always relate it to the original source.

One can tell that the Goldberg Variations hold a special place in Camilleri’s heart. She made the work the subject of her Doctorate in Music Performance with an in-depth study into the work’s purpose and structure.

This in-depth knowledge of the work comes through in the recording as well. Every note is laid out in a well-thought-out musical structure so that one can admire both the detail and the overall musical architecture.

However, there is more to this recording than just academic erudition or musical proficiency. This is a true labour of love.

At the end of the work Bach writes in a da capo; a full repeat of the original Aria. One need only compare Camilleri’s rendition of the two to realise her mastery of the work. The first is an invitation to explore new territory, whereas the final aria is the logical conclusion to an emotional musical journey rich in newly- discovered meanings.

The CD, produced by Treble Recording Studio, is excellently recorded with a balanced and clean sound. The programme notes are informative although perhaps a bit too technical, with a simple and elegant layout.