The Suite was one of the most popular genres in orchestral writing of the Baroque era, with composers such as Telemann, Lully and others writing many dozens of such compositions. It’s important to note that Baroque composers considered an “orchestra” as a group of players playing different instruments, certainly not the over 100 players we today associate with large symphonic ensembles. There is no proof that these Concertos were ever performed in this court during Bach’s lifetime.īach other orchestral masterpieces are the Four Orchestral Suites, or “Overtures”. The name “Brandenburg” is taken from the house name Brandenburg-Schwed, where Christian Ludwig, the music’s dedicatee, was Margrave. All of the Concertos but the first contains three movements, the outer fast and the middle slow or transitional. 2, or violin and two recorders for the Fourth Concerto. Each of the six concerti showcases different instruments with strings and basso continuo for instance, a “natural” trumpet, recorder, oboe, and violin in Concerto No. The Concertos are Bach’s attempt at the Concerti Grossi form, where a group of soloists with different instruments plays against (or in dialog) with an accompanying orchestra. Some argue he was the greatest.Įditor’s note: As on other articles from our “ Beginners Guides” series, the album recommendation for each piece are also chosen as a good starting point and a way to be introduced to the music, and not necessarily as the best recording.īach’s 6 Brandenburg Concertos are all early works, some based on previous material but revised to perfection and considered some of the masterpieces of instrumental baroque music. Today there is no dispute that Bach is one of the best classical music composers ever lived. Since then, Bach’s music triumphantly returned to the concert and recording canon, with significant help from the recording industry, and later the historically informed movement, which promoted performing Baroque pieces on instruments and practices from the 18th century. Matthew Passion, on a well-received Berlin concert in 1829. In fact, it was Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach that was considered “the famous Bach” until the second half of the 19th century.įelix Mendelssohn was the first well-known figure that revived major works by Bach – most notably the St. There was also very little pieces that were officially published during Bach’s lifetime, one of the reasons why the small number of works that were saved from obscurity included the keyboard works like the “Well-Tempered Clavier”, Goldberg Variations and 6 partitas. After his death in 1750, Bach’s music went out of fashion and was only known to connoisseurs and selected musicians. That is not to diminish the spirituality and emotional impact projected from his works.ĭuring his lifetime, Bach was mainly renowned as an organist, and was often called to examine and perform on organs in nearby towns. Bach was a practical composer in the best sense of the word he wrote for what was necessary at the time – church music for Sunday services, instrumental works for programs at a local cafe house, and works for academic or pedagogic proposes. Later composers, most if not all presented on our Beginners Guides, knew and incorporated counterpoint elements in their works, but put a heavy emphasis on the relationship between melody and accompaniment, with the former receiving more weight. He was always aware of his contemporaries and predecessors, continuing to be fully inventive even in his late life.īach musical thinking is polyphonic – maintains several voices that are played simultaneously but remain independent. In his long career, Bach wrote for any instrument and in any genre imaginable except opera. Johann Sebastian Bach was one of the few last great Baroque composers, and the most advanced and sophisticated of them all.
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