{ program notes
About the concert :
The Brandenburg Concertos
Johann Sebastian Bach
Born in Eisenach , Thuringia , Germany , March 21 , 1685 ; died in Leipzig , Saxony , Germany , July 28 , 1750
Johann Sebastian Bach ’ s six Brandenburg Concertos might still be languishing in obscurity , known only to Baroque specialists , if it were not for the invention of the long-playing record . They were hardly noticed in his own day , and there is no record that the man for whom they were assembled — the Margrave of Brandenburg , half-brother of the King of Prussia — even had his orchestra in Berlin play them . When Mendelssohn promoted a revival of Bach ’ s music in the early 19 th century , he never got around to the Brandenburgs , and so they slumbered on until the mid-20 th century .
Two Baroque works were the special beneficiaries of a number of recordings in the 1950s and immediately vaulted onto the classical hit parade : Vivaldi ’ s The Four Seasons and the Brandenburg Concertos . And interestingly , there are strong links between these two sets of concertos — aside from the fact that they are both enormously appealing and tuneful works — for the young Bach avidly studied Vivaldi ’ s latest concertos and adopted their forms and many of their techniques for his own orchestral music .
Unlike The Four Seasons , however , the Brandenburgs were not originally written as a set . Some of them — the First Concerto seems the most likely — may have been created in the early 1710s when the young composer was serving at the court of Weimar . Most of them , though , were likely written for the court of Cöthen , where Bach served as kapellmeister from 1717 to 1722 . These were extraordinarily happy and productive years , for his employer Prince Leopold was an accomplished musician who sang and played the violin , viola da gamba and bass viol ; as Bach said , he “ both loved and understood music .” Prince Leopold maintained an orchestra of 17 players of the highest caliber to
J . S . Bach
Each concerto has its own distinct sound world with music designed to celebrate the different kinds of virtuosity its particular instruments are capable of .
which he added guest artists whenever the music demanded .
In 1719 , Bach was sent to the Margrave ’ s court in Berlin to purchase a fine new harpsichord for the Cöthen Orchestra . There he met the Margrave — who was also known for the excellence of his orchestral ensemble — and undoubtedly demonstrated his virtuosity for him on the new instrument . The Margrave expressed interest in seeing more of Bach ’ s music , but it took another two years — until 1721 — for the perpetually overworked musician to prepare a suitable sampler in the form of six concertos for varying solo groups of instruments , chosen and probably extensively polished up for the occasion from his extensive repertoire . There is no record of an acknowledgement from the Margrave for this bountiful musical testament .
Unlike most of Vivaldi ’ s concertos , these are works of the concerto grosso genre : concertos that feature a group of soloists rather than a single soloist , balanced against a small orchestra of strings and harpsichord . Following Vivaldi ’ s formula , the two fast outer movements open with the small orchestra playing a refrain or ritornello , which then recurs in whole or in part throughout the movement to bind the music together . In between come episodes for the solo group using mostly different thematic material . The slowtempo middle movement focuses on more intimate music for the soloists .
What sets the Brandenburgs apart from other concerti grossi of the period is the wide variety of instrumental combinations Bach used to make up his solo groups . Each concerto has its own distinct sound world with music designed to celebrate the different kinds of virtuosity its particular instruments are capable of . In the First Concerto , Bach showcased the warm tones of French horns and the poignant lyricism of three oboes , alongside a violin . In the Second , a high Baroque trumpet sets a brilliant , festive tone along with solo flute , oboe and violin . The Third Concerto features just string instruments — three violins , three violas and three cellos — which constantly interchange their roles as solo and ensemble players . For the Fourth Concerto , Bach chose a violin , to which he gave a particularly virtuosic part , and two charming flutes or recorders . In the Fifth Concerto , for the first time in musical history he made the harpsichord — usually relegated to the subordinate role of continuo accompanist — his chief soloist and devised for it a spectacular , long cadenza surely intended to show off his own virtuoso powers ( as well as that new harpsichord from Berlin ). Finally , he turned again to the strings for his Sixth Concerto , but used only the violas , cellos and double basses while surprisingly omitting the violins . This combination was probably designed to show off Prince Leopold on the bass viol and Bach himself on the showy first viola part .
And thus , when all six concertos are played together , as they will be at this concert , we have in effect a giant Baroque concerto for orchestra , with every instrument and every section shining in the spotlight .
Notes by Janet E . Bedell , Copyright © 2017
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