For myself as a singer, the ‘way in’ to new music is often to breathe with it, and physically feel where it flows or hesitates. By approaching Glen Gould’s two recordings of Variation 15 from Bach’s Goldberg Variations in this way, I found that the 1955 recording is characterized by continuous forward movement, and the 1981 version by a sense of suspension.
The tempo of Gould’s 1955 recording is faster which contributes to its moving-ness, but I also felt that its phrases are more direct. My physical reaction to this recording is to bop my head back and forth (softly, though). Gould builds steadily toward stressed beats, and attacks with directness. It’s interesting that in the first 15 seconds of this recording, Gould can be heard blowing air, tff tff tff, on every beat. It is a long, steady breath, accented by little consonants. I think that breath speaks to the physical intention behind the music.
In the first 15 seconds of the 1981 recording, Gould does something very different with his voice; he sings a kind of deep-voiced dum dee da that has many characteristics of this later interpretation. Breathing to this recording, I felt that I was often holding my breath for a moment before a beat. This recording is not just slower—Gould seems to hold onto each note, or perhaps the space between them. Rather than flowing toward and away from accents, each gesture is stretched, not just in terms of note duration, but by a constant interplay of holding back and letting go.