Bach Brandenburg Concerto

Question 1

Period

Answer 1

Baroque

Question 2

Genre

Answer 2

Concerto Grosso

Question 3

What’s in the concertino?

Answer 3

Flute, violin, and harpsichord

Question 4

What’s in the ripieno?

Answer 4

Second violin, viola, celo and contrabasso

Question 5

What’s special about the harpsichord in this piece?

Answer 5

This concerto is the first ever to feature a solo harpsichord part

Question 6

What two parts does the harpsichord play?

Answer 6

Solo instrument and an accompanying role in the basso continuo

Question 7

What is the structure?

Answer 7

Ternary form (ABA)

Question 8

What key is section A in?

Answer 8

D major

Question 9

What key is section B in?

Answer 9

B minor

Question 10

What is section A like?

Answer 10

A Fugue, it is a fugato in D major.

Question 11

What is a fugue?

Answer 11

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.

Question 12

What is section B like?

Answer 12

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

Question 13

What is ritornelli?

Answer 13

Little returns

Question 14

Is the second section A a direct repeat of the first section A?

Answer 14

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

Question 15

What key is the movement in?

Answer 15

D major

Question 16

How does Bach create contrast?

Answer 16

Changes in texture

Question 17

Where does section A include modulations to?

Answer 17

The dominant (A major)

Question 18

How is the key of the B section related to the key of the A section?

Answer 18

The B section is in B minor which is the relative minor of D major, the key of the A section.

Question 19

What does the B section include modulations to?

Answer 19

The dominant (F# minor) and A major

Question 20

What is the entire movement based on?

Answer 20

Triadic and scalic ideas heard in the first few bars

Question 21

How does section B start?

Answer 21

With the opening 4 notes of section A transposed up from D major to B minor

Question 22

How is the accompaniment in section B similar to Section A?

Answer 22

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)

Question 23

What melodic device is frequently used in the piece?

Answer 23

Sequences

Question 24

What type of ornaments are frequently used?

Answer 24

The trill and appoggiatura

Question 25

What is the tempo?

Answer 25

Allegro (fast) and it doesn't change

Question 26

What is weird about the tempo?

Answer 26

It is written in 2/4 time but sounds like 6/8 due to the triplet quavers

Question 27

What dance is the music in the style of?

Answer 27

A Gigue (it is generally in 6/8 time)

Question 28

What sort of rhythms are very prominent?

Answer 28

Triplets and dotted rhythms, plus semiquavers in the harpsichord part

Question 29

What texture are bars 1-2 and bars 233-234?

Answer 29

Monophonic

Question 30

What is the general texture of the piece?

Answer 30

Contrapuntal with frequent use of imitation

Question 31

What could the texture of section A be described as?

Answer 31

Fugual, but IT IS NOT A FUGUE

Question 32

What starts in bar 64, just before the end of the A section?

Answer 32

A stretto (close imitation)

Question 33

Where does the contrabasso play?

Answer 33

In the tutti sections, mainly doubling the cello

Question 34

How do the flute and violin work together?

Answer 34

They sometimes double (33-44) or play in parallel thirds (107-114)

Question 35

How does Bach create contrast with texture?

Answer 35

.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

Question 36

Is their many dynamics?

Answer 36

No instead Bach uses changes in texture to achieve the same effect, as many Baroque composers did

Question 37

What sort of dynamics are generally used?

Answer 37

Terraced dynamics

Question 38

What sort of chords are played?

Answer 38

.Simple diatonic chords .triads in the root or first position .dominant sevenths in root or inversion

Question 39

How does Bach create melodic decoration?

Answer 39

.Appogiaturas and suspensions

Question 40

Does Bach make use of pedals?

Answer 40

Tonic and dominant pedals outline the various changes of key in the B section

Question 41

What does each of the 3 main sections end with?

Answer 41

A perfect cadence