Bach Brandenburg Concerto Flashcards
Period
Baroque
Genre
Concerto Grosso
What’s in the concertino?
Flute, violin, and harpsichord
What’s in the ripieno?
Second violin, viola, celo and contrabasso
What’s special about the harpsichord in this piece?
This concerto is the first ever to feature a solo harpsichord part
What two parts does the harpsichord play?
Solo instrument and an accompanying role in the basso continuo
What is the structure?
Ternary form (ABA)
What key is section A in?
D major
What key is section B in?
B minor
What is section A like?
A Fugue, it is a fugato in D major.
What is a fugue?
A tune in which the opening subject is taken up in turn by the other instruments. Each new part enters in imitation of the previous part, overlapping with it, often at a higher or lower pitch.
What is section B like?
It begins and ends in B minor and has a ritornello structure in which episodes based on just the first four notes of the subject alternate in ritornelli of other material from section A
What is ritornelli?
Little returns
Is the second section A a direct repeat of the first section A?
Apart from the D major chord at the start of bar 233, it is a repeat of the opening fugato. It is a ‘da capo’ form of ternary structure
What key is the movement in?
D major
How does Bach create contrast?
Changes in texture
Where does section A include modulations to?
The dominant (A major)
How is the key of the B section related to the key of the A section?
The B section is in B minor which is the relative minor of D major, the key of the A section.
What does the B section include modulations to?
The dominant (F# minor) and A major
What is the entire movement based on?
Triadic and scalic ideas heard in the first few bars
How does section B start?
With the opening 4 notes of section A transposed up from D major to B minor
How is the accompaniment in section B similar to Section A?
The rippling quavers that accompany the flute at the start of section B are similar to the accompaniment section found in bar 5 (A section)
What melodic device is frequently used in the piece?
Sequences
What type of ornaments are frequently used?
The trill and appoggiatura
What is the tempo?
Allegro (fast) and it doesn’t change
What is weird about the tempo?
It is written in 2/4 time but sounds like 6/8 due to the triplet quavers
What dance is the music in the style of?
A Gigue (it is generally in 6/8 time)
What sort of rhythms are very prominent?
Triplets and dotted rhythms, plus semiquavers in the harpsichord part
What texture are bars 1-2 and bars 233-234?
Monophonic
What is the general texture of the piece?
Contrapuntal with frequent use of imitation
What could the texture of section A be described as?
Fugual, but IT IS NOT A FUGUE
What starts in bar 64, just before the end of the A section?
A stretto (close imitation)
Where does the contrabasso play?
In the tutti sections, mainly doubling the cello
How do the flute and violin work together?
They sometimes double (33-44) or play in parallel thirds (107-114)
How does Bach create contrast with texture?
.The opening 4 part texture contrasts with the following more fully textured tutti
.The harpsichord solo in bars 163-176 has only a two-part canonic texture
.A free canon (between the flute and violin) begins in bar 193
Is their many dynamics?
No instead Bach uses changes in texture to achieve the same effect, as many Baroque composers did
What sort of dynamics are generally used?
Terraced dynamics
What sort of chords are played?
.Simple diatonic chords
.triads in the root or first position
.dominant sevenths in root or inversion
How does Bach create melodic decoration?
.Appogiaturas and suspensions
Does Bach make use of pedals?
Tonic and dominant pedals outline the various changes of key in the B section
What does each of the 3 main sections end with?
A perfect cadence
