Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750): Complete
Orchestral Works
Originals / Transcriptions / Reconstructions
Volume 6: Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 1,
2, 3 and 6
It seems that only a relatively small part of Bach's orchestral
oeuvre has been preserved for posterity. Much has been speculated about
the reasons for the above-average losses in this particular field, but up till
now no really conclusive reasons have been found. The fact that so few works
for instrumental ensemble have survived particularly from the Weimar and Cothen
periods, during which the composer directed so many excellent ensembles, has
led many researchers to the hypothesis that Bach was obliged to leave the
majority of his compositions in these places when he moved on to another post -
a common custom for which much evidence can be found in many eighteenth century
documents; other considerations establish a connection with the distribution of
Bach's compositions to his heirs after his death. Whatever the case, only one
thing is certain: that at the latest with Bach's death a veil of oblivion began
to sink over his orchestral works - partly caused also by a profound change in
taste which began in the middle of the eighteenth century .Thus great effort was
necessary in the course of the Bach renaissance at the beginning of the
nineteenth century to win back these works, which by then were completely
unknown even to Bach connoisseurs, into the performance repertoire.
Today Bach's orchestral works enjoy an enduring popularity
once more. Intensive study of this repertoire, which in spite of the
regrettable gaps is in many ways incomparable, has led to the realisation that
only a part of the works can be regarded as original compositions, whereas many
of the concertos in the form in which they are known today represent
transcriptions of pieces written earlier. Among the works of the first-named category
are the Brandenburg Concertos and the three Violin Concertos, among the
transcriptions are all the concertos for one to three harpsichords, which are presumed
to he based on lost works for various melody instruments. The Concerto for four
harpsichords BWV 1065 is a special case in that Bach did not take one of his
own works as a basis but, exceptionally, a work by Antonio Vivaldi. Comparative
studies on Bach's technique of rearranging works have led again and again to
speculations about the possible form and structure of the lost works on which
the arrangements are based, and as a consequence to attempts at reconstruction
which have resulted in pieces which are stylistically convincing and which have
proved their worth in practice; within the context of this recording these
works are intended to help fill the gaps mentioned above.
The present complete recording of Bach's orchestral works
illustrates graphically the enormous musical variety and compositional quality
of this sphere of his creative work. We meet the composer for the first time
around 1715 on his first pinnacle of mastery (Brandenburg Concerto No.5)
and accompany him for approximately a quarter of a century up to the sublime works
of his maturity - the Overture BWV 1067 and the Triple Concerto BWV
1044.
On 2Oth April 1849 Siegfried Wilhelm Dehn, at the time
custodian of the music collection in the royal library in Berlin, reported a
remarkable discovery. "While compiling my catalogue of the works of Johann
Sebastian Bach existing in Berlin I have come across many works of the greatest
significance which up till now have remained unknown (unknown even to his sons Carl
Philipp Emanuel and Wilhelm Friedemann as well as to Forkel, who is always so
exact), among them 6 concerti grossi dedicated to the Margrave Christian Ludwig
of Brandenburg." Since Philipp Spitta's monumental Bach biography the name
Brandenburg Concertos has established itself for these concertos, which
were thus awoken, like the Sleeping Beauty, from over a century of slumber, and
under this name they are today among the most well-known works of the composer,
in fact of the musical literature of the whole world. But this popularity
should not make us blind to the fact that our concrete knowledge about the
origin and chronology of these compositions, which are in many ways
incomparable, is still slight.
Bach's dedicatory preface provides us with some indications
as to the origin of the cycle. According to this dedication the Margrave, who
was residing in Berlin, had a few years earlier expressed to Bach the wish for instrumental
works for his court orchestra. Possibly Bach and Christian Ludwig had met in
May 1718 in Karlsbad, where in the eightennth century many of the crowned heads
of Europe came in the warm season together with their court musicians and where
something like a festival atmosphere regularly came about. If this was the
case, however, it meant that Bach waited three whole years before fulfilling
the Margrave's wish. There is no doubt that the Brandenburg Concertos
are partly a compilation of works composed earlier. For example, there exists
an early version, which cannot be dated with certainty, of the first concerto -
without the third movement and without the violino piccolo part - which had
perhaps originally served as the introductory Sinfonia for the Hunt
Cantata, composed in 1712 or 1713. Other works of the cycle, on the other
hand, may date from shortly before 1721, for their style differs greatly from
comparable works of the Weimar period and adheres more closely to Italian
models.
The first Concerto in F major BWV 1046 contrasts three
groups of instruments (horns, oboes, strings) with one another, fusing together
in the first movement into a complex texture of motivic layers and in the third
movement providing a subtle accompaniment to the virtuoso solo passages of the violino
piccolo. The sostenuto second movement uses only the oboe and the string
groups, the upper voices of which spin out wide sweeps of filigree melody. The
third movement is followed by a colourful series of dance movements divided up
by the rondo-style repeats of the minuet.
The second Concerto in F major BWV 1047 presents an
intricate solo quartet consisting of trumpet, recorder, oboe and violin, to
which the tutti strings take second place as far as independence of
texture and thematic significance are concerned. The observation that the orchestra
merely takes on the function of an instrumentated basso continuo
accompaniment has led to the supposition that the work was originally conceived
as a chamber concerto for four soloists. The particular feature of this
concerto lies in the way the four instruments, which are so different in sound
quality, are given exactly the same melodic treatment.
The third Concerto in G major BWV 1048 is scored for
three groups, each consisting of three members of the violin family (three
violins, three violas and three cellos). Here Bach ingeniously makes use of the
various possibilities of combination: in one place the musical texture is
shared between high, middle and low registers, in another place between three
string trios, and occasionally individual representatives of each group come
into prominence as soloists, A formal peculiarity of this work is the fact that
the middle movement is missing; the two fast movements, which differ from each other
significantly in their mood and texture, are connected with each other merely
by means of a short transitional cadence.
Finally, the sixth Concerto in B flat major BWV 1051,
scored for the unusual instrumentation of two violas, two viole da gamba
and cello obbligato, represents a daring mixture of elements from the era before
and after Vivaldi. Whereas the two gambas take over the function of an
accompaniment to a great extent and only participate in the thematic process
with short interpolations, the two violas fulfil an extraordinarily virtuoso
function which far exceeds that which was usually demanded from this instrument
at this time.
In the Brandenburg Concertos Bach enriched the concerto
genre in many significant aspects and ran the gamut of possibilities the genre
presents, It is not easy to find a comparable cycle of works of this era which manages
to combine bold experiment with solid craftsmanship and musical richness with conceptional
consistency in such perfection.
Peter Wollny
Translation: Diana Loos