Brandenburg Concertos No1 is written around 1721 and it is set in four movements. Uniqueness of this composition is that Bach uses the hunting Horn. The sound of the horns stands out but the composer manages to make them blend into the ensemble using multiple winds. Along with the horn, the violin piccolo seems to draw more attention. Each movement has extraordinary counterpoint that inventively shades and blurs the contrast between the small concertino group and the tutti ensemble. The piece begins with a brisk tempo. The second movement is slow in tempo and a passionate musical sigh. The first oboe and violin piccolo dominate melodically. The strings have a supportive role and the horns are gone completely. At the end of this movement, we can hear a series of dissonant harmonies which leads from d minor to the dominant A Major.

The third movement is back in F Major and an allegro. The violin piccolo is playing the leading role again and the horns are prominent too adding strength to the texture. We can her repeated horn figure throughout the third movement.

This movement has a feeling of finale. A brief adagio interrupt the musical flow than we can hear the reprise of the opening material and a strong return to F Major.

The fourth movement is a little minuet (Polacca) and trio. This arrangement provides timbral and textural contrast as well as gives a grace to the concerto.

Reference

2014. Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No.1 (Sheet Music). Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kI1Ab6_Xfk&gt; [Accessed 22 February 2021]

Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) was a composer from Leipzig and a contemporary of Bach.

Concerto in E minor for Flute and Recorder, TWV 52:e1 written around 1712-1721. It is a Baroque concerto for the flute and recorder in E minor. The combination of these two instruments I find so beguiling as the two sonorities blend beautifully and spar off each other. It gives the piece a unique flavour of looking towards a more classical sound while retaining a very folky pastoral element. Particularly in the first ¾ Largo movement, which consists of the two solo instruments taking turns carrying the melody at first slowly before moving on to arpeggiated figures and a call and response section. The strings and basso continuo plays the underlying chords and marks the beat.

The second movement is an Allegro in Common time which moves at a cheerful pace. It is a very bright and fast-moving section with both the strings and the two soloists playing busy figures.

The third movement is again Largo but in Common time and in E# major played in a jovial and pleasantly lolling manner. The melodies are contrapuntal again with interplay between the flute and recorder with only pizzicato for accompaniment. In the last few bars, the continuo plays some figures while the rest of the instruments hold longer notes.

The fourth and final movement is a Pestro and feels very much like a dance. It starts quite forcefully with all instruments playing in unison and doubled at the octave before the first solo melody joins in with a busy quaver figure. This is followed by some imitation with the repeat of the first part. This is nearly `round` like in its structure. All is then repeated at a louder dynamic and played more forcefully. There are some melodic developments near the end before one last forceful, more accented reiteration played at a faster tempo.

Reference

2012. [Hist.Instr.] Telemann: Concerto for Flute & Recorder & Strings in e, TWV 52:e1. [image] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YSXpzuv8GU&gt; [Accessed 21 February 2021]

Scarlatti became famous principally for his many keyboard sonatas, which were mostly one movement works in binary form.

Keyboard Sonatas or harpsichord sonatas is a group of 555 sonatas for harpsichord written by Domenico Scarlatti (1685 – 1757) dating from the early 18^th century. In modern performance the sonatas are sometimes performed on the piano.

Sonata in E Major K.380, L.23

The Sonata in E Major K.380, L.23 is one of the most popular of Domenico Scarlatti`s Sonatas. It follows the typical Baroque bipartite scheme such as the first half ends in the dominant and the second half returns to the tonic. This piece clearly shows the Spanish elements that Scarlatti was influenced by. The Spanish flavour represented by the use of ornamentation and sometimes surprising dissonance, reminiscent of the Spanish guitar. This keyboard music was written primarily for the harpsichord. It has an elegant and lyrical melody and it can almost be called pastoral. Scarlatti used different octaves to create the effect of contrast in dynamics and in its structure, he composed long passages.

Reference

2013. Scarlatti Sonata K 380 – L 23. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hsa2OQyRIPE&gt; [Accessed 17 February 2021]

Winter – Concerto in f-minor

Allegro non molto
Shivering, frozen mid the frosty snow in biting, stinging winds;
running to and fro to stamp one’s icy feet, teeth chattering in the bitter chill.

Largo
To rest contentedly beside the hearth, while those outside are drenched by pouring rain.

Allegro
We tread the icy path slowly and cautiously, for fear of tripping and falling.
Then turn abruptly, slip, crash on the ground and, rising, hasten on across the ice lest it cracks up.
We feel the chill north winds coarse through the home despite the locked and bolted doors…
this is winter, which nonetheless brings its own delights. (VIVALDI: “Four Seasons” Sonnets texts in Italian & English, n.d.)

The four season is a group of four violin concerti written by an Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741). Each of the violin concerti gives musical expression to a season of the year. The piece written around 1716-1717 and published in 1725 in Amsterdam.

Concerto No.4 in F minor, op.8, RV 297, “Winter”

This piece has three parts. First is Allegro non molto (in F minor). Vivaldi brilliantly reflects the biting cold, gusting wind, trembling bodies and chattering teeth on the violin. The first notes describe with a smooth and persistent rhythm the slow fall of the snowflakes. The violins reflect the teeth chattering caused by the intense cold. Then we listen to a gust of wind that shakes the fall of the snowflakes in the first violin solo. At the end of this part, little by little the force of the music increases and end with a great theme.

The second movement is called Rain and is Largo (in Eb major). The music excellently reflects a rainy winter day. We can imagine as we are sitting in our house next to the fireplace while outside is very cold, windy and rainy. While the violin solo plays a beautiful melody, which describes the warm and cosy home with a feeling of happiness, the rest of the instruments represents the rhythmically falling rain.

Third movement is Allegro on F minor. It begins with a violin solo than the orchestra appears imitating a smooth burst of wind that gradually grows until reaching great force, and the terrible winter storm arrives. The snow drifts of the North are interpreted by the violin solo and the orchestra, finishing in a great and beautiful ending.

Reference

2010. Antonio Vivaldi – Winter (Full) – The Four Seasons. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZCfydWF48c&gt; [Accessed 16 February 2021]

Baroquemusic.org. n.d. VIVALDI: “Four Seasons” Sonnets texts in Italian & English. [online] Available at: <https://www.baroquemusic.org/vivaldiseasons.html&gt; [Accessed 16 February 2021]