The Concerto for Two Violins, Strings and Continuo in D
Minor, BWV 1043, also known as the Double Violin
Concerto or "Bach Double", is perhaps one of the most
famous works by J. S. Bach and considered among the
best examples of the work of the late Baroque period.
Bach wrote it between 1717 and 1723 when he was the
Kapellmeister at the court of Anhalt-Köthen, Germany.
Later in 1739, in Leipzig, he created an arrangement
for two harpsichords, transposed into C minor, BWV
1062. In addition to the...(+)
The Concerto for Two Violins, Strings and Continuo in D
Minor, BWV 1043, also known as the Double Violin
Concerto or "Bach Double", is perhaps one of the most
famous works by J. S. Bach and considered among the
best examples of the work of the late Baroque period.
Bach wrote it between 1717 and 1723 when he was the
Kapellmeister at the court of Anhalt-Köthen, Germany.
Later in 1739, in Leipzig, he created an arrangement
for two harpsichords, transposed into C minor, BWV
1062. In addition to the two soloists, the concerto is
scored for strings and basso continuo.
The concerto is characterized by the subtle yet
expressive relationship between the violins throughout
the work. The musical structure of this piece uses
fugal imitation and much counterpoint. It was very
likely first played by Joseph Spiess and Martin
Friedrich Marcus with Prince Leopold's court orchestra.
At Cöthen, Bach had no organ to play, despite his
pan-German reputation as a virtuoso on that behemoth
among Baroque instruments. However, he was proficient
as well on the violin, the viola da gamba, and of
course the clavier. Without his first choice available,
or church duties such as Leipzig demanded later on,
Johann Sebastian concentrated on instrumental music in
various combinations -- much of it subsequently lost.
Along with the Brandenburg Concertos as a set, only two
more concertos for solo violin and the D minor for two
violins survived out of who knows how many, beyond the
ones Bach rewrote at Leipzig after 1729 for one, two,
three, and four claviers. All of his concertos,
Brandenburgs included, had Vivaldi as their point of
departure, and some were even transcriptions of the
Italian master's works. Bach's genius was, of course,
that he could individualize as well as transcend the
music of a man indirectly his mentor. His works hadn't
the sensuality or esprit of Vivaldi's; Bach was German
Lutheran, bound beyond climate and environment by a
religion that denounced the secular excesses in which
Roman Catholicism (as Luther viewed it from within) had
wallowed since the Middle Ages.
While opera had no place in Bach's education, life, or
music, he was nonetheless sublimely capable of
lyricism, warmth, and gentleness, never more so than in
the Largo, ma non tanto middle movement of this Double
Concerto, with its 12/8 Siciliano rhythm and solo lines
that seem to caress one another as they overlap and
intertwine. On either side of this blissful duolog,
however, the Baroque contrapuntist displays his mastery
of synthesis and organization. The concerto opens with
a fugal exposition of two contrasting themes, and their
"development" in the ritornello style through G minor
and C minor before the orchestra "reprises" the opening
theme one last time. The allegro finale, in triple
meter, likewise features imitation and repetition with
the soloists front and center. Even more than in the
first movement, there is a feeling of sonata form in
embryo, with the charming surprise of a reprise in G
minor instead of the tonic D minor.
Although originally written fro 2 violins and continuo,
I created this arrangement for Solo Viola & Concert
(Pedal) Harp.
PARTITION