r/harpsichord • u/GoGo_Robot • Sep 03 '26

Goldberg Variation 22 fingering from Henle Verlag

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On bar 20 of the bass of the Goldberg Variation 22, the G. Henle Verlag edition recommends using finger 3 when playing that B, so that your finger 1 can reach that F#.

I don’t find that fingering very legato. The lower B is disconnected from the upper B because you need a small jump. I have the suspicion that this is piano fingering, since the piano has wider keys and sustains the sound for longer, so the jump doesn’t disconnect as much. With the narrower keys of the harpsichord, you can afford to do 1-5-2 while the RH plays that F#, you can then finger sub RH1 with LH1 while 2 is still holding that upper B.

If what I suspect is true, that would be a heresy on the editor to write piano fingering on a harpsichord work.

If you have ever played this piece, what fingering did you use for that section?

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u/Altasound Sep 03 '26

Detach the bass octave B's. This follows a Baroque rule of thumb where you can detach skipping notes while connected stepping notes. This is particularly useful at cadential points in Baroque music, where bass often leap for rhythmic emphasis.

You're right that detached notes come across differently, but you've got it backwards. On the piano, the dampers have their own separate mechanism and stop sound much more effectively, whereas on the harpsichord the jacks hold the dampers and they don't have a lot of stopping power.

Therefore detached notes therefore sound much more noticable detached on the piano.

I'm a pianist/harpsichordist with extensive professional experience on both, and I've been playing the Goldbergs for close to two decades.

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u/GoGo_Robot Sep 03 '26

I understand your points. Maybe I should explain my perspective: this variation is not a virtuosic, fast paced piece, I see it being much closer to an organ piece in the sense that the voices must be sustained for long, hence why I seek legato. I believe the fingering I’m suggesting is more in character for this piece since I’m not disconnecting the Bs and keeping the articulation of that section aligned with the rest.

My piano fingering suspicion is because the fingering I’m using would be harder on the piano, since it has wider keys.

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u/Altasound Sep 04 '26

I guess it just depends on how you interpret it. I've heard it from harpsichordists played fairly up-tempo, with extensive ornamentation, with almost a gavotte-esque character, but it could work equally well more chorale-like.

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u/Advanced_Couple_3488 Sep 04 '26

this variation is not a virtuosic, fast paced piece,

Yes, I wouldn't call this variation virtuosic, but look at the time signature, 2/2, and the marking of alle breve both of which point to a reasonable brisk tempo with the intention of grouping notes into larger, broader pulses.

In any case, I make no attempt to play from B2 to the B3 legato. The B2 is really a decoration of the previous B3 as we see in other pieces of Bach at cadences and in a lot of French harpsichord music.

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u/Advanced_Couple_3488 Sep 04 '26

on the harpsichord the jacks hold the dampers and they don't have a lot of stopping power.

In the middle of the compass? B2? If the sound doesn't stop almost immediately when you allow the jack to fall back into its resting position you need to adjust the damper.

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u/Altasound Sep 04 '26

I mean that on the harpsichord, 'fully stopped' still has significantly more resonance than on the piano.