BACH BRANDENBURG CONCERTOS 3, 5, 6

A trendy new musical form was rapidly gaining ground in the glittering capitals of France and Italy during the early 18^th century: the concerto.  After Italian composers of the Guarneri and Stradivarius era developed the concept of contrast between a large group—the orchestra—and a soloist or chamber group, concertos caught fire among composers throughout Europe. The solo concerto remains prominent in orchestral repertoire, but the concerto grosso, featuring a small group accompanied by orchestra, found its peak in the 18^th century.

Commissioned in 1721 by Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg, each of Johann Sebastian Bach‘s six “Brandenburg” concertos has a different small group (concertino). Each has three movements ordered in the same form:  fast, slow, fast.  The typical concertino throughout the Baroque is the trio sonata ensemble, consisting of two treble instruments, like flutes, violins, oboes, recorders, and a harmonized bass line called the basso continuo. During the second movement, the concertino is often featured without the larger ensemble (ripieno, the same term used for the filling in ravioli). One other notable characteristic found in most Baroque concertos is the ritornello, a recurring refrain played by the ripieno after concertino sections.

Brandenburg No. 5 is traditional in all these senses, first highlighting a trio sonata ensemble—flute, violin, and harpsichord. The harpsichord, however, plays two roles.  With the ripieno, it is simply the harmonizing instrument, part of the basso continuo.  But with the concertino, it is the most featured instrument with elaborate figuration, showing the soloist’s virtuosity. For the second movement, the ripieno is completely tacet, and the last has one of the most well-known ritornellos of the concerto grosso era.

Brandenburg No. 6 is far more adventurous, with a concertino of two violas (Bach’s specialty after keyboard instruments), two bass viols, cello, violone, and harpsichord. During the slow middle movement, the bass viols are silent, leaving the concertino as a trio sonata ensemble with the two violas as treble, the cello and violone on the bass line, and the harpsichord for harmony.

This was a transitional time for the viola da gamba family, which differed from its newer cousins, the violin family, in having at least five strings and frets to aide finger placement. The violin family, also including violas, cellos, and basses, were louder, fitting more comfortably with the birth of both the orchestra and concert halls, which now had paid entry and were open to the public.

Because the cello and violone are on the same line, Bach uses a French technique of having one instrument, the cello in this case, playing a more decorative version of the bass line simultaneously with the violone. Certainly, the original title of these works, Six Concerts à plusieurs instruments [Six concertos for several instruments] confirms Bach’s French state of mind for these works, but the regular appearance of the violin, promoted by the Italians, confirms the traditional position of German composers, successfully blending French and Italian styles.

Brandenburg No. 3 has the largest concertino, but is the shortest of the six works, also with the shortest movement.  Its second movement, Adagio, consists of only two chords. Modern performers either play the chords simply, elaborate briefly on them, or one of the concertino players improvises a more extensive solo cadenza. Sadly, the Margrave was not able to hear these concertos before his death, but fortunately, these joyful works are available for modern audiences.

–Dr. Yvonne Kendall, © 2022

–Dr. Yvonne Kendall, © 2021