The Brandenburg Concertos are six concerti grossi, written by a German composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). It considered a masterful example of the balance between a small group of soloists and a small orchestra. Bach composed this work between 1711-20 and dedicated to Christian Ludwig, the margrave (marquess) of Brandenburg and also the younger brother of King Frederick I of Prussia. This piece represents a popular music genre of the Baroque, called concerto grosso. In concerto grosso a group of soloists plays together with a small orchestra. The use of three movement with a fast-slow-fast tempo indicates that the Brandenburg Concerti were based on Italian concerto format.

The Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F major, BWV 1046 is the first of six great concertos and it is the only one with four movements. It is in a fast-slow-fast form with a final dance section added to the end. The orchestration is unusual. Bach using the hunting horns which sounds stands out, but the composer manages blend them into the ensemble through the use of multiple winds. Along with the horn, the violin piccolo also included to draw more attention to the innovative qualities of the composition.

The first movement is pure light swaggering elation. The two horns appear playing their first solo causing disturbance in the carefully balanced texture and the overall rhythm by their raucous and hunting sound.

The second movement is slow and soft and scored for the full ensemble. The mournful melody alternates between the oboe and violin piccolo in a canon. It also descends into the bass where it expands from its standard role to accompaniment. The minor seconds creates dissonance in the harmony and gives bitterness to the melancholy mood. One of the innovations from Bach can be found in the conventionally descending bass where the very end of each note first supported by oboes but then cancelled by unexpected chords in the strings which resulted a dry 20^th century sound.

The third movement is the closest to a standard concerto format. To avoid fatigue the composer breaks the insistent 6/8 rhythm with a two-bar adagio. This movement contains a florid violin piccolo solo and it also features the trumpet with long sustained passages in its high register. The Brandenburg Concerto No 1 closes with a polacca and trio which provide a timbral and textural contrast. The polacca uses strings (excluding the violin piccolo) and continuo only. The trio for the minuet is set for oboes and bassoon, and the second trio consist two horns and unison oboes. This mean there is no bassline in this movement. The overall structure alternates the full minuet with the softer interludes which evokes the ritornello form.

References:

Biography.com. 2014. Johann Sebastian Bach Biography. [online] Available at: <https://www.biography.com/musician/johann-sebastian-bach&gt; [Accessed 22 May 2020]

Bach, J., 1711. Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No.1. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kI1Ab6_Xfk&gt; [Accessed 22 May 2020]

Schwarm, B., 2020. Brandenburg Concertos | Compositions By Bach. [online] Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: <https://www.britannica.com/topic/Brandenburg-Concertos&gt; [Accessed 22 May 2020]