Johann Sebastian Bach most likely completed his
Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major, BWV 1050, in
1721. This work is the fifth of six concertos the
composer dedicated to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of
Brandenburg. The offering was likely a sort of
application for employment; Bach got no response, but
these pieces have become some of his best-known
material. Every one of the concertos is distinct, as
are the composer's sets of suites and partitas. Hearing
the fifth concerto in the context of the...(+)
Johann Sebastian Bach most likely completed his
Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major, BWV 1050, in
1721. This work is the fifth of six concertos the
composer dedicated to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of
Brandenburg. The offering was likely a sort of
application for employment; Bach got no response, but
these pieces have become some of his best-known
material. Every one of the concertos is distinct, as
are the composer's sets of suites and partitas. Hearing
the fifth concerto in the context of the rest of the
set makes it clear that, apart from Bach's inimitable
strength as a contrapuntist, the key to his ability to
make music that is both sublime and entertaining lies
in the fact that in his hands, everything is elastic.
No other composer of the Baroque era could write
through the constraints of form as if it was not there
at all. Bach saw more options than anyone else, in form
and in influence. The way he blended the Italian sound
into his own in these concertos ennobled both Italian
and German music. The scope of his vision and his
relentless invention, making everything he wrote new,
frustrates any attempt at comparison.
This fifth concerto is scored for flute, solo violin,
obbligato harpsichord, and strings. It is the only one
of the six pieces to have any solo material given to
the harpsichord, which is part of the continuo
throughout the other works, filling out the harmonies.
What is quite bizarre and beautiful about the opening
movement is the way the solo instruments and string
ensemble seem to be muscling in on each other's musical
functions. More specifically, the ritornello is almost
carried away by the soloists although it is normally
the territory of the tutti ensemble. The harpsichord
seems to be holding the work together, and there are
episodes in the second half of the movement where
everything has ground to a halt except for the
harpsichord. At the end of the movement, the other
soloists actually support the free-flowing harpsichord
line. It is a sort of divide-and-conquer movement, with
tutti versus soloists, and also soloists against
soloists. The harpsichord wins. No one wrote music with
this sort of free play of function before Bach.
The following two movements, briefer than the first,
form an admirable contrast. The second movement is for
soloists only, somber and cooperative. Though it is
intimate and free of the first movement's tension, it
is the most concerto-like movement in the traditional
sense. This is a colossal irony, considering how the
tensions of the concerto form were exploded in the
first, which is as much a departure from the form as it
is an adherent. The final movement is a charming dance,
a lively gigue with fugal powers.
Originally written for Flute, Violin, Harpsichord,
Violin, Viola, Cello, Violone, and Continuo, I created
this Arrangement of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D
Major (BWV 1050) for Flute & Piano.
PARTITION