Johann Sebastian Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B
flat major, BWV 1051 is the final concerto in a set of
works dedicated to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of
Brandenburg. (It may actually have been the first
composed, however.) They were intended as a job
application, but the job did not appear. Bach's sonic
imagination was seemingly limitless, and for this final
concerto he chose to limit the work's instrumentation
to strings and continuo, meaning that the only
non-bowed instrument heard is t...(+)
Johann Sebastian Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B
flat major, BWV 1051 is the final concerto in a set of
works dedicated to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of
Brandenburg. (It may actually have been the first
composed, however.) They were intended as a job
application, but the job did not appear. Bach's sonic
imagination was seemingly limitless, and for this final
concerto he chose to limit the work's instrumentation
to strings and continuo, meaning that the only
non-bowed instrument heard is the harpsichord.
Every other concerto in the set made extensive use of
contrasting timbres, balancing the strings with the
winds, often in unprecedented ways. This limitation of
timbre is also extended to register; there are no
violins, just two violas, two violas da gamba, a cello,
and the violone, which is near the cello range and is
from the gamba family. The overall effect of this
decision is a spirit of repose and conclusion. There
are no visceral contrasts in the music, though the
final Allegro is faster than the other two movements;
the concerto, whenever it was actually composed, makes
a splendid way to end the overall set. Bach's writing
for these instruments was unconventional for the time.
In the early eighteenth century the lower members of
the violin family were considered orchestral
instruments with supporting roles. They were given
comparatively easy parts to play, while the gamba and
its relatives were regarded as chamber instruments and
necessarily received more difficult lines. Bach chose
to reverse the level of difficulty, giving the viola
and cello the tough solo parts, while the gamba players
were free to cruise along in the supporting roles. In
the second-movement Adagio, they are completely
silent.
The form of the three-movement work is also filled with
reversals. The opening movement sounds initially like a
freely composed fugal arrangement, free of the stark
contrasts normally associated with concerto form. Its
ritornello, normally a focused bit of recurring melody,
rambles along without drawing much attention to itself,
while the music that is supposed to be spun out of the
ritornello is concise and sharp. Compounding the
irregularities further, the second movement (lovely and
languid) ends in a different key from the one it starts
in. The final movement assumes the character of a fugal
gigue, but reveals itself to be a set of variations
based on the initial ritornello, which is a much freer
demonstration than the traditional spinning-out of the
initial material. Overall, these surprises result in
what in many ways is the most various and striking
among the Brandenburg Concertos. Its beauty is equal to
its invention.
Although originallywritten for 2 Violas, Cello, 2 Bass
Viols and Continuo, I created this Arrangement of the
Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in Bb Major (BWV 1051) for 4
Violas, Cello & Bass).
PARTITION