The Brandenburg Concertos (BWV 1046–1051) by Johann Sebastian Bach is a collection of six instrumental works presented by Bach to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, in 1721 (though probably composed earlier). The original French title is Six Concerts à plusieurs instruments, meaning “Six Concertos for several instruments”. Some of the pieces feature several solo instruments in combination. They are widely regarded as some of the greatest orchestral compositions of the Braoque era.
Title on autograph score: Concerto 3zo à tre Violini, tre Viole, è tre Violoncelli col Basso per il Cembalo.
- [no tempo indication] (usually performed at Allegro or Allegro moderato)
- Adagio in E Minor
- Allegro
Instrumentation: three violins, three violas, three cellos, and harpsichord (as basso continuo)
The second movement consists of a single measure with the two chords that make up a ‘Phrygian half cadence’ and—although there is no direct evidence to support it—it was likely that these chords are meant to surround or follow a cadenza improvised by a harpsichord or violin player. Modern performance approaches range from simply playing the cadence with minimal ornamentation (treating it as a sort of “musical semicolon”), to inserting movements from other works, to cadenzas varying in length from under a minute to over two minutes. Wendy Carlos’s three electronic performances (from Switched-On Bach, and Switched-On Bach 2000) have second movements that are completely different from each other. Occasionally, the third movement from Bach’s Sonata for Violin and Continuo in G, BWV 1021 (marked Largo) is substituted for the second movement as it contains an identical ‘Phrygian cadence’ as the closing chords. The Largo from the Sonata for Violin and Obbligato Harpsichord in G major, BWV 1019, has also been used.
The outer movements use the ritornello form found in many instrumental and vocal works of the time. The first movement can also be found in reworked form as the sinfonia of the cantata ‘Ich liebe den Hochsten von Ganzern Gemute,’ BWV 174, with the addition of three oboes and two horns. This concerto is the shortest of the six.
