Variations

I took myself and a friend to hear Corey Jamason at the Conservatory play the Goldberg Variations. The harpsichord was a 20th-century instrument, modeled on one of the 17th-century. The evening began with a short suite by J C de Chambonnières, after which the performer left the stage, and returned a moment later in his shirtsleeves, jacketless. This surprised the audience, who responded with good-natured laughter. He explained, somewhat shyly, that since he had to cross arms occasionally to play two keyboards, the jacket would restrict his movement, and his cuffs would snag on keys. So, no jacket. The audience listened with rapt attention throughout, to a very interesting and enjoyable performance. Corey performed the repeats in perhaps 6 of the pieces, so the entire performance took about an hour