Essay on the first movement from Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 by J.S Bach

One of Bach’s most celebrated compositions, Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 was part of six compositions (known as the Brandenburg Concerti, collectively, though they were mostly musically unrelated) that Bach submitted in March 1721 to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg as a job application of sorts. Bach, in the wake of the death of his wife, was trying to leave his musical position with Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen. However, the individual composition dates for the Brandenberg Concerti cannot be precisely determined. The only thing that can be said with certainty about their chronology is that they were all composed by March 1721, the date on Bach’s autograph copy, (Boyd, 1993) including Concerto No. 2. (Ironically, Bach did not get the job.)

This piece is identifiable as being in the style of a Concerto Grosso. Concerto grosso, literally translated as great concert, was a popular compositional/performance style from the Baroque period, which is localized between 1650 and 1750. Generally, a concerte grosso was distinguished by a small set of solo instruments (the concertino) that interacted in a musical duel of sorts with a larger group (the ripieno), one answering the other. The Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 is just such an example, with the trumpet playing the most commonly well-known concertino voice.

Concerto No. 2 was written in the key of F major, and scored for the following instruments: trumpet (as alluded to above), flute or recorder (the original instrument used), oboe, and violin from whose ranks came the solo instruments; and the viola, cello, and continuo (most commonly a harpsichord), which together formed the ripieno. The piece is divided into three movements, as follows:

1. Allegro (without tempo indication)
2. Andante
3. Allegro assai

We shall focus on the first movement. The trumpet part stands out most notably, as it is written …

Tags: Bach, Brandenburg, genre

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