On 24 March 1721
Johann Sebastian Bach
sent Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg, the scores
of six concerti “for various instruments.” The Margrave, whom
Bach had met in 1719 in Berlin, was a passionate music lover who
collected the scores of more than two hundred concerti by various
composers in addition to being a strong proponent of Antonio
Vivaldi. Bach’s Brandenburg concerti were based on a model created by
Vivaldi (almost all are in three movements and feature wind instruments),
but each of them is highly original. No two are alike, each is unique, and
together they comprise a veritable encyclopaedia of Baroque music.
Concerti Nos 3 and 6, unlike the other four, are concerti
grossi (Baroque concerti for several soloists and orchestra). They were composed
for chamber ensembles in which one person would perform each part, thus
making each performer a soloist. When performed by a greater number
of musicians one becomes a concerto grosso, the other an
orchestral concerto.
Concerto No 3 was intended for three violins,
three violas, three cellos and basso continuo. The symbol
of the Trinity insistently comes to mind, which the basso
continuo seems to disturb. But Bach composed this part, too, on three
different lines for three different instruments – the cello,
violone and harpsichord. He later transformed the first movement
of the concerto into the introduction to Cantata
No 174, Ich liebe den Hцchsten von ganzem Gemьte (I Love
the Highest with My Whole Heart, 1729). Instead of a second
movement, there are just two fluctuating chords written in the score.
Possibly this meant an improvised cadenza from the violin, harpsichord or
other instrument; by putting something akin to a series of dots
in the score, Bach was quite literally inviting the performers
to work with him.
Brandenburg Concerto No 6 was composed for two
violas, two violas da gamba and basso continuo. In a break with tradition,
the “Cinderella” violas perform the solo, the noble violas da
gamba accompanying. This can probably be explained by the fact that Bach’s
then patron, the Prince von Anhalt-Kцthen, loved to play the da
gamba while Bach himself liked to play the viola (it is not hard
to imagine which of the two was the more virtuoso
performer!). In the second movement the da gambas fall silent and,
to the background of an accompaniment continuo, the violas
carry the infinitely beautiful two-voiced fugue. If the number
of performers is increased, Concerto No 6 becomes a concerto
grosso for two violas and low strings.
Anna Bulycheva