BWV 988, Quodlibet, Arrangements for Voice and Continuo

This page contains two arrangements of the quodlibet (variation 30) from the Goldberg variations, BWV 988. The original piece is for solo harpsichord. It weaves fragments of at least three traditional tunes plus the Goldberg bass line into the harmonic structure of the Goldberg variations. Here is a web site that explains how Bach works the tunes into the piece: https://www.bach-cantatas.com/Articles/BWV988-Quodlibet%5BBraatz%5D.htm.

Arrangement 1: Kraut und Rüben haben mich vertrieben

This arrangement focuses on the tune that appears most prominently in the original piece. That tune is Kraut und Rüben haben mich vertrieben (“Cabbage, turnips drove me right away”). It is a two-part round, or simple canon.

Text: Here is the German text of the tune, with my translation:

German	English
Kraut und Rüben haben mich vertrieben. Hätt’ mein’ Mutter Fleisch gekocht, so wär’ ich länger blieben.	Cabbage, turnips drove me right away. Had my mother cooked some meat, I’d have been pleased to stay.

German

English

Kraut und Rüben
haben mich vertrieben.
Hätt’ mein’ Mutter Fleisch gekocht,
so wär’ ich länger blieben.

Cabbage, turnips
drove me right away.
Had my mother cooked some meat,
I’d have been pleased to stay.

Round: Here is an arrangement of the round for soprano and tenor voices, with continuo accompaniment:

Quodlibet: Here is a reduction of the quodlibet for soprano and alto voices and continuo accompaniment. I have removed all the tunes except the bass line and the fragments of Kraut und Rüben, and I have made the bass line into a continuo part.

Notice how Bach sets the first part of the tune against itself in different ways, and in different keys. Note also how at the end of each section, the two parts of the tune sound together, as in the round.

Many good recordings of the Goldberg variations are available. I suggest you listen to this version and then listen to the original, and see if you can hear how this music is embedded in the original. It’s really neat! All this music is in there, but in places it is hidden behind other things that are going on in the composition, such as other tunes that are sounding at the same time.

Choral arrangement: Here is a four-part choral arrangement of the round.

Arrangement 2: Ich bin so lang nicht bei dir g’west

In this arrangement, I have focused on the second-most prominent tune, Ich bin so lang nicht bei dir g’west (“I’ve been away from you so long”).

Text: Here is the German text of the tune, with my translation:

German	English
Ich bin so lang nicht bei dir g’west: Ruck her, ruck her, ruck her.	I’ve been away from you so long: Come here, come here, come here.

German

English

Ich bin so lang nicht bei dir g’west:
Ruck her, ruck her, ruck her.

I’ve been away from you so long:
Come here, come here, come here.

Round: The original tune is not a round. However, in the quodlibet, Bach shows us how to alter the rhythmic values in the second phrase and make it a round.

Here is an arrangement of the tune for soprano and tenor voices, with continuo accompaniment. This arrangement states the original tune twice; then it sets the round, using Bach’s alterations. To set the round, I have used a modified form of the Goldberg bass line.

Quodlibet: Here is a reduction of the quodlibet for soprano, alto, and tenor voices and continuo accompaniment. It is the same as the reduction linked above, but now I have included the fragments of the song Ich bin so lang nicht bei dir g’west. Notice that when the fragments of both songs are included, the words are amusing. For example, the first two sections in the soprano part have the following text (in English):

I’ve been away from you so long:
Cabbage, turnips drove me right away.