Czech Chamber Music Society • Nicholas Kraemer

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) created no larger and more comprehensive collection of concertos preserved in their original instrumentation than the Brandenburg Concertos, which are representative of the Baroque period and its musical development in terms of their number (six—half a dozen—is a key number in the Baroque era), diversity of genre (the collection contains all of the concerto forms from the older consort practice and the concerto grosso up to the solo concerto, which was new at the time), and instrumental diversity (it successively employs all of the instruments of the orchestra then in use). The title “Brandenburg Concertos” was not used during Bach’s lifetime. The German scholar Philipp Spitta was the first to use it in his Bach biography published in Leipzig in the 1870s, when he tried to give the collection a more memorable name than the composer’s own title, “Six Concertos for Several Instruments”.

Why Brandenburg? From 1717 to 1723, Johann Sebastian Bach held the prestigious position of Kapellmeister and conductor of the chamber orchestra in Köthen at the court of Prince Leopold von Anhalt-Köthen. In the winter of 1718/1719, he travelled to Berlin to take possession of a new harpsichord built for use at the prince’s court in Köthen. On the occasion, he probably gave a concert before Margrave Christian Ludwig von Brandenburg-Schwedt. We do not know whether the margrave commissioned instrumental compositions from Bach already at that time or somewhat later, but it is certain that two years after Bach’s visit, he received a score with the heading “Six concerts avec plusieurs instruments” and a dedication in French dated 24 March 1721. Bach had clearly been working on some of the concertos before meeting the margrave in Berlin, but most of the collection was written over the intervening two years. The concertos are written for the forces of the Köthen orchestra, and it is known that the margrave did not have an ensemble of such size at his disposal. Therefore, the score with the dedication was simply kept in margrave’s collection, and it was not used for performances during Bach’s lifetime, or even for another 100 years after his death.

The orchestral compositions from Bach’s Köthen period including the Brandenburg Concertos demonstrate the composer’s mastery of the Italian concertante style that was predominant in instrumental music at the time as well as in other genres. Bach continually studied Italian music in the concertante style, especially that of the Venetian composers, and masterfully combined it with the German tradition of town trumpeters in the use of wind instruments, as well as with the contrapuntal texture of the more massive North German style. The instrumentation is quite varied, with some concertos feature dialogue between whole groups of instruments, while in others, Bach chooses just a small group and opposes it to the majority of the orchestra. The Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F major calls for an extraordinarily large group of instruments in solo roles, in which Bach curiously combines a single violin (indicated in the score as a “violino piccolo”) and a group of winds (two horns, three oboes, and bassoon). In Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, we do not find the typical division into solo and tutti parts. Instead, there is an equal dialogue between three violins, three violas, three cellos, and accompaniment played by the basso continuo section (which is a reference to the polychoral tradition familiar from the churches of Venice). The Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major has clearly defined solo parts: transverse flute, violin, and harpsichord, the latter being the most prominent, highlighted by a cadenza at the conclusion of the first movement, which Bach expanded from 18 to 65 bars in the autograph score dedicated to the margrave compared with the original score.

There are also two interesting departures from the usual form of the Italian three-movement fast – slow – fast pattern. The opening three movements of the First Concerto and the four parts of the concluding movement (Menuet – Trio I – Polacca – Trio II) together create a whole that resembles a seven-movement dance suite. Then in the Third Concerto, instead of a slow middle movement like in other concertos that would be of a length equal to that of the two outer movements, one finds only two transitional chords with the tempo indication “Adagio”, followed by an “Allegro” that is usually regarded as the second, concluding movement.

The orchestral music of the Late Baroque in the works of Germany’s three most prominent masters—today’s programme can be briefly characterised in this way. We encounter many forms of the concertante style as well as the popular orchestral overture. Although written in Köthen, London, and Hamburg, these works share a common foundation in the European musical tradition of drawing upon Italian and French musical influences, which were creatively interwoven in the first half of the 18th century in what is now Germany.

We must begin with the concertante genre in its earliest form, which emerged in Italy and spread around Europe during the High Baroque. The basis of the genre is dialogue between a smaller group of instruments (a “concertino” of soloists) and a larger one (“concerto grosso”) in the context of an instrumental ensemble. We know only a few examples of this form from the Late Baroque, but in the hands of George Frideric Handel (1685–1759), the genre gets a masterful treatment. The first collection, Concerti grossi, Op. 3, appeared in 1710 and called for strings and winds, then 1739 saw the publication of the Concerti grossi, Op. 6, where the orchestral parts are for strings only, with optional oboes “colla parte” (in unison with the violins). The concertino consists of two violins and a cello. Handel created his collection of twelve concertos incredibly quickly between 29 September and 30 October 1739, writing some of the concertos in a single day. At the same time, they represent this Baroque form at its pinnacle, magnificent in scale, melodically rich, and technically brilliant. The sixth Concerto grosso in G minor is one of the most remarkable in the entire opus. Although this is instrumental music, Handel the dramatist comes through here as well, whether through contrasts between individual movements or the choice of keys expressing pathos in the manner of opera arias. The concerto also exhibits the features of a French suite, beginning with a slow movement and containing many movements including dances. Evoking the pastoral atmosphere popular among the French is the Musette, which departs from the home key to E flat major and features a repeated bass line accompaniment imitating bagpipes.

Representing Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767), the third German composer of the Late Baroque on tonight’s programme, is an overture. In this case, the overture is a purely abstract, self-contained work; the multi-movement overture without continuation is a tradition most closely associated with France. Telemann’s style represents a highly individual combination of Italian and French influences, so some historians referred to the style as “mixed” or even “German”. One of the most prolific composers of all time, he was more highly regarded in his day than Johann Sebastian Bach despite having been self-taught as a composer. In 1702, he took the position of director of opera in Leipzig, then he passed through a succession of positions as Kapellmeister of orchestras at aristocratic courts. Ultimately, he became the music director at five churches in Hamburg and was responsible for the city’s opera theatre and for public concerts. All of those positions constantly demanded new repertoire including instrumental music. The Overture in D major, TWV 55:D21, is one of Telemann’s very late compositions (and one of the last works of the Baroque era), written in 1765. Telemann dedicated the composition to Ludwig VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. Because the nobleman was a lover of the hunt, the score calls for two hunting horns and gives them a prominent role. The typically French introduction is followed by a “lament” (Plainte), a more celebratory Réjouissance, then a Carillon with the onomatopoetic imitation of bells. The next movement, Tintamare, takes its name from the French word tintamarre, meaning “noise” or “clamour.” The suite ends with two gentler dance movements, a Loure and a pair of Menuets.