# Johann Sebastian Bach — Goldberg Variations

Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations (1741) is No. 1 in our Baroque ranking. The full verdict, and where to hear it.

- **Released:** 1741
- **On one list:** Baroque
- **Updated:** 2026-08-30
- **Artist:** [Johann Sebastian Bach](https://waxonia.com/artist/johann-sebastian-bach/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/johann-sebastian-bach--goldberg-variations/

## What we say

### No. 1 in [Baroque](https://waxonia.com/genre/baroque/)

Thirty variations over a bass line, returning at the end to the aria unchanged. Glenn Gould recorded it twice, at opposite tempos, twenty-six years apart, and both are right.

## Analysis

12 sections, the first drop of 26 at 1:57, 5% of the way in.

- **Tempo:** 107.7 BPM — holds throughout
- **Dynamic range:** 14.8 dB — wide open — the quiet parts are genuinely quiet
- **Length:** 39:20

- `0:00` A · **intro**, instrumental — opens the record below its own average energy — playing: other
- `1:58` B · **steady** (bar 52), instrumental — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: other
- `5:23` A · **breakdown** (bar 145), instrumental — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning — playing: other
- `7:09` B · **lift** (bar 192), instrumental — a short rise that does not resolve — a fill or a transition, not a build — playing: other
- `11:08` A · **breakdown** (bar 299), instrumental — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning — playing: other
- `13:23` B · **peak** (bar 360), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: other
- `14:19` A · **breakdown** (bar 385), instrumental — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning — playing: other
- `16:42` B · **steady** (bar 449), instrumental — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: other
- `20:25` B · **peak** (bar 549), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: other
- `25:32` A · **breakdown** (bar 687), instrumental — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning — playing: other
- `32:09` B · **peak** (bar 866), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: other
- `36:53` A · **outro** (bar 993), instrumental — the closing fall — playing: other

**Drops** at 1:57 (bar 52), 3:08 (bar 84), 4:18 (bar 116), 7:08 (bar 192), 7:43 (bar 208), 9:02 (bar 243), 10:12 (bar 274), 10:50 (bar 291), 13:56 (bar 375), 16:41 (bar 449), 17:03 (bar 459), 17:49 (bar 479), 18:09 (bar 488), 20:24 (bar 549), 23:01 (bar 620), 23:31 (bar 633), 24:02 (bar 647), 24:47 (bar 667), 25:19 (bar 681), 32:20 (bar 870), 32:52 (bar 885), 33:33 (bar 903), 34:04 (bar 917), 35:04 (bar 944), 35:25 (bar 954), 36:48 (bar 991). A drop is a moment, not a stretch.

**What is playing.** Separated into parts by a source-separation model, so each lane is the instrument it names.

- **drums:** the drum kit, separated from the mix
- **bass:** the bass part, separated from the mix
- **vocals:** the voice, separated from the mix
- **other:** everything else — synths, guitars, keys, strings

Measured from the YouTube master on 2026-08-29. Section labels describe how the energy
moves, not musical form. Anything we were not confident enough to state is omitted
rather than hedged.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Johann%20Sebastian%20Bach%20Goldberg%20Variations) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah392lnFHxM)

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Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.