Bach's Brandenburg Concerto

Musical Context

Bach wrote six Brandenburg Concertos dedicated to the Margrave of Brandenburg
They are all examples of the concerto grosso. This means a 'large concerto' for more than one soloist, written in three movements, usually in the order fast - slow - fast. The work features two groups of instruments played both separately and in combination with each other.
The two groups are called concertino and ripieno. The concertino is the smaller group of soloists, (flute, violin and harpsichord).
The ripieno is the larger orchestra
The basso continuo provides a continuous bass played by the harpsichord and low strings

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The harpsichord reads a 'figured bass'. The bass part is annotated with a musical shorthand indicating the chord to be played above the notes, which in turn gives a clue about any melody that should be realised by the player
The five main functions of the harpsichord:
- Soloist
- Part of the continuo
- Realising a figured bass part
- completing the harmony
- directing the ensemble

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Affection - in Baroque style it was the custom for music to have only one mood expressed in any one movement. This was known as affection. In this work, the mood is upbeat and uplifting.
This is achieved through the gigue dance rhythms (two beats of triplet quavers in a bar, in 6/8 compound duple time), the fast tempo and the D major key, which suits stringed instruments
The dynamics were left to the performer, and there are no dynamic markings.
Textual variations were used to vary the dynamics. The dynamics are varied according to the number of parts playing.
When both the concertino and ripieno groups play together, the music is loud.
During the section when ony a few parts play, the dynamic level is much lower.

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The structure fuses two forms - the fugue and ternary form
Section A - bars 1-78. These are repeated in bars 233-310 to form the two A sections
Section B - bars 79-232 form a contrast. Perhaps Bach through the opening sections striking enough to merit an exact repetition.
Fugue: The opening fugual exposition (the subject and answer) enter alternatively every two bars. The exposition ends when the last entry has been made.
The countersubject is played at the same time as the subject
Stretto - sometimes the entries of subject and answer occur after a shortened duration - after only one bar rather than two. This heightens tension and excitement.
A real answer is where the intervals between one note and the next is exactly the same as in the subject. Otherwise it is a tonal answer.
Variant (as in the beginning of the B section) resembles the subject, but is slightly different.

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Textures are mainly fugal and contrapuntal
There are passages that are monophonic and homophonic
Monophonic example in bars 1-2
Two-part counterpoint in bars 3 to first beat of 9
Three-part counterpoint bars 9-10
Four-part counterpoint bars 10-29
Passagework - a constantly moving passage (bar 117)
Scalic passage - bar 221 onwards in the violin
Canon - bars 163 onwards in the harpsichord - the left hand repeats the right hand a bar apart.

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Section A opens and closes in the tonic key of D major
- From bar 12 the addition of G#s starts to modulate the music to the dominant key of A major
- Perfect cadence for this key at bars 16-17.
- Music modulates to the dominant of the dominant - E major. This is the secondary dominant.
- Perfiect cadence in that key occurs in bars 24-25
- Retuns to dominant key a few bars later with perfect cadence at 28-29
- Tonic key again at bar 37
- There are then a number of passing modulations lasting only a bar or so, before a perfect cadence into the tonic at bars 63-64.
- Music moves to relative minor key (B minor) for the start of the B section.
B Section
- Opens and ends in B minor (chord vi and relative minor)
- Modulates through a series of mainly minor keys
- Bar 97 it moves to dominant of B minor (F# minor) with a perfect cadence bar 98-99
- A dominant pedal on F# leads to a perfect cadence in B minor at 232 to end the B section.

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