Bach - Brandenburg Concerto 4 in G

Question 1

Baroque features:

(10 points)

Answer 1

• Concerto grosso (concertino e ripieno)
• Continuo
• Use of violone (six-stringed double bass viols)
• There are very few dynamics, since contrast and balance are achieved through frequent changes in instrumentation.
• Cello, bass, and continuo share one line for most of the piece.
• Largely functional harmony
• Functional tonality
• Ritornello form
• Counterpoint (up to 8 part)
• The circle of fifths appears quite frequently

Question 2

Texture:

(6 points)

Answer 2

• Texture is at its most reduced in the violin solo episode, single line melody against single notes outlining the harmony.
• In the third ritornello, there are two bars of eight-part counterpoint.
• Inverted dominant pedal in opening bars.
• Polarised texture in bars 4-6
• Exact stretto imitation in the 3 violins at the beginning of the third episode.
• Monophony in first episode (solo violin)

Question 3

Structure:

(10 points)

Answer 3

• Ritornello form:
• Ritornello I in G major (including dominant and subdominant modulations)
• Episode I in G major (violin solo)
• Ritornello II in E minor (just opening and closing motifs)
• Episode II in E minor (flute duet followed by violin bravura)
• Ritornello III in C major (just opening and closing motifs, includes violin double stopping)
• Episode III in C major (3 part stretto imitation, solos interjected by tutti sections)
• Ritornello IV in B minor (very similar to ritornello II)
• Ritornello V in G major (identical to ritornello I)
• The episodes are developments of ideas that first occur in Ritornello I

Question 4

Tonality:

(3 points)

Answer 4

• Functional tonality (related modulations)
• Frequent perfect cadences and pedal points to reinforce tonality
• G (tonic), Em (relative minor), C (subdominant), Bm (dominant relative minor), G (tonic)

Question 5

Harmony:

(10 points)

Answer 5

• Functional harmony
• Lots of perfect cadences (opening theme is based on perfect cadence structure (I-V-I)
• Harmonic sequences are used
• The circle of fifths appears quite frequently
• There are frequent 7th chords and suspensions
• Harmony is mainly diatonic
• Neopolitan 6th occurs twice (bars 155 and 137, both beat 1)
• Diminished sevenths occur occasionally
• Harmonic rhythm is mostly one chord per bar, but speeds up when approaching cadences
• There are frequent dominant pedal points

Question 6

Melody:

(6 points)

Answer 6

• The work is based on four motifs:
• The ritornello theme (bars 1-6)
• Semiquaver rising scalic figure followed by falling thirds (bars 13-14)
• Conjunct figure (bars 35-36)
• Closing figure with rising fourths (bars 79-83).
• The motifs are developed through sequence, inversion, and repition.

Question 7

Rhythm and Metre:

(5 points)

Answer 7

• 3/8, but has a feeling of one dotted crotchet per bar.
• For most of the piece, there are continuous semi-quavers.
• There is a hemiola effect at the end of each ritornello
• There is occasional syncopation caused by ties across barlines.
• At the beginning of the second episode, the accent is sometimes shifted to the second beat of the bar.