In 1721, Johann Sebastian Bach dedicated six orchestral
pieces to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg,
ostensibly in response to a commission, but more likely
as a sugarcoated job application. These pieces display
a variety of styles, influences, and musical
preoccupations and were probably not conceived of as a
set. However, all of them share in Bach's great talent
for absorbing new styles (among them the Italian
concerto grosso) and then expanding and improving upon
them. At any rate, the...(+)
In 1721, Johann Sebastian Bach dedicated six orchestral
pieces to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg,
ostensibly in response to a commission, but more likely
as a sugarcoated job application. These pieces display
a variety of styles, influences, and musical
preoccupations and were probably not conceived of as a
set. However, all of them share in Bach's great talent
for absorbing new styles (among them the Italian
concerto grosso) and then expanding and improving upon
them. At any rate, the Margrave never thanked Bach,
paid him a fee, staged a performance of the works, or
offered him a position. Such was life, even for
Bach.
The Concerto No. 3 in G major may have been written
while Bach was at Weimar, given that it (along with
Nos. 1 and 6) is reminiscent of the Italian concerto, a
genre with which Bach was fascinated at the time. The
motoric rhythm, clear melodic outline, and motivic
construction owe a lot to the comparable works of
Vivaldi, but the clarified harmony and more interesting
counterpoint are unmistakably Bach's. The work's two
main sections, both in G major (one alla breve, the
other in 12/8 time), are separated by a brief Adagio
which may be realized as a short violin cadenza. The
concerto is written for three violins, three violas,
and three cellos, with bass and continuo. The
relationship between the instruments is subjective to
the listener; as the positioning of the parts
fluctuates, it may appear that there are no soloists,
that the players are all soloists, or that the violins,
violas, and cellos occupy their own solo groups. The
Italian concerto grosso's distinction between
concertino (a small group of soloists) and ripieno (the
full ensemble) becomes in Bach's hands, and especially
distinctively in the Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, a
kaleidoscopic range of colors and shades.
Originally written for 3 Violins, 3 Violas, 3 Cellos
and Continuo, I created this Transcription of the
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major (BWV 1048) for
String Ensemble (3 Violins, 3 Violas & 3 Cellos &
Contrabass).
PARTITION