On Tuesday, February 4, 2014 at 8:00pm the Freiburger Barockorchester (Freiburg Baroque Orchestra) will perform the complete Brandenburg Concertos by J.S. Bach in the Coolidge Auditorium. For more information about attending the concert, visit the event page. Though advance tickets are no longer available, you may obtain RUSH tickets at the door beginning two hours prior to the concert.
Here’s an excerpt from the Brandenburg Concerto program notes (click to explore the full program booklet):
Johann Sebastian Bach’s six Brandenburg Concertos hold a preeminent place in standard repertoire as flagship instrumental works of the Baroque era. In these works Bach sets himself apart from his contemporaries, such as Vivaldi and Telemann, by expanding the possibilities and norms of the concerto genre, particularly related to instrumentation. Biographer Martin Geck observes in the Brandenburg Concertos that Bach “reveals himself as a composer who is conscious of history, who confronts the present, and at the same time is interested in systematically exploring all the compositional possibilities.”¹ Michael Marissen, a prominent Bach scholar, proposes socio-hierarchical interpretations of the Brandenburg Concertos, which suggest that Bach used his music as a vehicle to convey ideas about divisions in society. All in all, the Brandenburgs may be viewed as marking an important point of musical transformation in Bach’s career, for with them he managed to expand the traditions of the concerto genre.
The origins of the individual concertos are in some instances nebulous and impossible to pinpoint. Bach’s presentation score of the Brandenburg Concertos, dated March 24, 1721, is the most significant primary source related to the works’ conception. This score was dedicated and delivered to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg (1677-1734), the son of Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (1620-1688), and brother of Frederick I, King of Prussia (1657-1713). It is generally believed that Bach encountered the Margrave in either late 1718 or early 1719 in Berlin, while purchasing a new harpsichord from Michael Mietke (ca. 1656/1671-1719) for Prince Leopold (1694-1728), Bach’s employer at Cöthen.² Based on Bach’s inscription to the Margrave on the presentation score, it is inferred that the Margrave asked Bach to compose some music for him and the small group of musicians in his employ. Bach’s note on the score reads “…it gives me honor for you to call for me to send you some parts of my composition.” He went a step further, passive-aggressively soliciting work from the Margrave, saying: “…I have nothing more at heart than to be employed in more worthy ways of your service.” The note was signed “Monsigneur / Of Your Royal Highness / The very humble and very obedient servant / Jean Sebastien Bach.”³ This is likely an indication of growing dissatisfaction with his employment in Cöthen.
[program notes continue here]
Footnotes:
1 Martin Geck, Johann Sebastian Bach: Life and Work, transl. John Hargraves (Orlando, FL: Harcourt,
2006), 555.
2 Malcolm Boyd, Bach: The Brandenburg Concertos (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993), 10.
3 Translated by N.A. Brown. Original source: Bach, J.S., Brandenburgisches Konzerte [Titelblatt], Bach
Digital, Bach Archiv Leipzig <http://www.bach-digital.de/receive/BachDigitalSource_source_00000448>.
About the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra
The Freiburg Baroque Orchestra (FBO), which celebrated its 25th anniversary season in 2012-2013, has had an unprecedented history of success since its student beginnings. Within a few years of its founding, it became an internationally sought-after orchestra that was honored to receive invitations from leading concert halls around the world. The FBO’s very special sound is frequently praised, as is its variety of repertoire, including music from the
early-Baroque to the present. The ensemble takes this sound from Freiburg, Germany to its European neighbors, to North and South America, to Asia, and even to Australia and New Zealand. Since May 2012, the “Freiburgers,” together with their colleagues of the ensemble recherche, share an internationally unique home: the Freiburg Ensemble House, a musical workshop and incubator for innovation. Both historical and contemporary music are explored under this one roof.
The Freiburgers’ artistic credo involves the creative curiosity of each of musician, joined with the intention of playing compositions in the most lively and expressive manner possible. Aside from work as an ensemble, the musicians play frequently as soloists. The FBO collaborates with important artists like René Jacobs, Andreas Staier, Isabel Faust, Kristian Bezuidenhout, and Christian Gerhaher, maintaining a close collaboration with the label harmonia mundi France. The artistic success of this musical partnership is reflected in numerous CD productions. Together they have been recipients of many distinguished awards, including Germany’s ECHO Classical Music Award (2011, 2012, 2013), the Edison Classical Music Award (2012, 2013), Gramophone Awards (2011, 2012) and the German Record Critics’ Annual Award (2009). Under the artistic directorship of its two concertmasters, Gottfried von der Goltz and Petra Müllejans, as well as under the batons of selected conductors, the FBO presents approximately one hundred performances per year. Their projects range from chamber music to opera, which include subscription concerts at Freiburg’s Concert Hall, Stuttgart’s Liederhalle, and the Philharmonie Berlin. The ensemble is self-administered.
Digital Scores
A digital facsimile of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos (presentation manuscript) is available via the Bach Digital portal, a project of the Bach Archiv Leipzig, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, SLUB, and Universität Leipzig.