JS Bach - Brandenburg Concerto No 1 (1 of 3)

Jeanne Lamon and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra.

"The only Brandenburg Concerto in four movements, the First may appear to be the conventional fast-slow-fast form to which a final dance section was added, but scholars trace a more complex origin, in which the first, second and fourth movements comprised a "sinfonia" to introduce a 1713 Hunting Cantata and thus was more like a standard suite of the time. Boyd goes further to speculate that to create the character of a concerto, Bach later added the present third movement with its prominent violin solo, the short phrasing of which suggests separate origin as a now-lost choral piece. (Bach later adapted the third movement back to a choral setting to open a 1726 cantata.)

The overall orchestration is unusual. The sheer number of instruments gives the work more of an orchestral than chamber character. Karl Geiringer calls it a "concerto symphony." To expand the range of the sonority, Bach specifies in lieu of his standard violone a "violone grosso" played an octave below the bass staff (corresponding to the modern double bass) and in lieu of a solo violin a "violono piccolo," an obsolete small violin with scordaturo tuning a major third above notation and whose lighter bow, less resonant body and tighter string tension yield a sweeter, lighter tone. Harnoncourt asserts that the instrument was chosen purely for its tone color, rather than any technical reason. Indeed, Boyd notes that Bach didn't exploit its higher range and that its reduced volume is overwhelmed by the large ensemble. Bach himself used a regular violin in his earlier sinfonia version."

Peter Guttman

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[teeleengo]

Bach will always be my favorite from that era (yes, more than Mozart or Beethoven).

[ssjumbo2]

@789123Y Exactly why Bach could write such counterpoints- since with so many kids he could process multiple sounds at the same time..

[PELOTON3090]

the best from here to china !!!

[MsJollycholly]

@guitarlad89 agree with you teeleengo! I often think that masters like this HAD NO CHOICE but to create their art. It had to be given voice and BACH was the vehicle.

[siskohellkaiser94]

@teeleengo i dont mean to troll but Bach is from a different era of classical music than mozart and beethoven but i do agree he is superior

[mexicanfriendreload]

BACH !!!!! IS THE BEST !!!!!

[spacecadet1869]

@NoahSV Yeah.. it's admirable how some people can do these things - and this is hundreds of years ago. Imagine these days what it would be like.

[NoahSV]

@predmanos, I believe five of his children actually died at a young age, but raising fifteen children, and teaching at the local school, and writing some of the best music written in history is still insane.

[NoahSV]

@rayoceremonial Debussy is not of the baroque era.

[bitterclinger100]

@1john316saves This music is supposed to arouse your higher passions, not your lower ones.lol

[1963Luisito]

La música barroca entre la clásica es la mejor música de todos los tiempos. No solamente proporciona placer a los oidos sino que alegra el espíritu , por eso se emplea en múltiples técnicas de musicoterapia.

[rayoceremonial]

La música barroca de Bach, vivaldi, teleman, haendel, hayden, debussy,corelli,etc es una epoca inmemorable de la musica, todos fueron maravillosos , Bach fue el rey de reyes, hacia de lo humano divino y de lo divino humano.