Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 (BWV 1050) by Johann Sebastian Bach
Imagine a prosperous, upper middle-class household filled with friendly people: family — numerous children at play — visiting friends, and maybe a few hired-help. In the midst of this, at a table, sits a man smoking a pipe, drinking coffee, talking, and — rapidly scribbling notes on paper! Many of his family are helping copy musical parts, even as they visit. This would be a typical day in the Bach household in Weimar in the years 1708-17; and in 1717, when the Bachs moved to Cöthen, this happy scene would be re-established, and for a time, continue. This was the sort of environment in which J. S. Bach, during this period, transcribed and arranged several concertos by others, wrote several of his own, and created the six known as “The Brandenburg Concertos.” It was while living in Cöthen that Bach visited Berlin in 1719 on business, and met Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg. By the following year, however, the happiness had vanished: Maria Barbara Bach, Bach’s first wife, died, and by an unfortunate coincidence Prince Leopold, Bach’s patron, had remarried, to a woman who really did not like Bach’s music at all. Subsequently, in an apparent attempt to re-locate, Bach sent “Six Concertos for Several Instruments” to the Margrave of Brandenburg in 1720; thus, they are now known as the Brandenburg Concertos (Bach never moved to Berlin, but left Cöthen in 1723 for Leipzig, where he, having remarried, remained to the end of his days.)
Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, (BWV 1050) is remarkable. In this work, Bach created the harpsichord concerto per se. It is also innovative instrumentally; for example, it is one of the earliest works to fully exploit the then-new transverse flute. The work is in three movements. The first movement’s mood is very dynamic, positive, cheerful; in fact, much like the convivial mood of the Bach household — toward the end, the harpsichord holds forth at great length with a virtuosic cadenza, and everyone joins in briefly to bring the first movement to a strong cadence! The beautiful second movement is a lyrical, contemplative moment of repose between the two dynamic outer movements; much of it is filled with the tenderness of a love-duet. The last movement is robust, a powerful torrent of sound, and sweeps everyone and everything to a triumphant, exuberant conclusion, combining fugal and rondo features in a delightful swirl!
Check out these links if you would like to learn more:
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J.S. BACH Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major, BWV1050 By Johann Sebastian Bach. Soloist: Neill Eisenstein, piano; Ensemble: Stuttgart Festival Orchestra; Conductor: Emil Kahn. For Piano. Instrumental Solo Part and CD. Published by Music Minus One. (MMOCD3054) See more info… |
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Complete Brandenburg Concertos Transcribed For Piano Four Hands By Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), arranged by Max Reger (1873-1916). Piano four hands book (contains primo and secondo parts) for piano four-hands. Series: Keyboard. 159 pages. Published by Dover Publications. (AP.6-413829) See more info… |
