Brandenburg Concerto Analysis Flashcards
What is a concerto grosso?
A Baroque piece for a group of soloists and orchestra
What are the distinct features of Baroque music?
> ornamentation
contrasting sections eg dynamics from loud to soft
polyphonic writing
contrapuntal texture
harpsichord continuo
What does continuo mean?
> the bass part in Baroque music usually played by a cello and used by chordal instruments eg harpsichord
Differences between harpsichord and piano?
> harpsichord is a keyboard instrument
harpsichord has plucked strings not hammered
harpsichord has a tinnier sound
harpsichord has no sustain pedal so players have to add trills to long notes to lengthen sound
no dynamics on a harpischord
What is a figured bass?
> a form of notation where numbers are added to a bassline indicating intervals to be added above the bass note to create a chord
What is the tempo of the piece?
Allegro
What is the structure of the piece?
Ternary form
A-bars 1 to 78 (fugal exposition)
B bars 79 to 232
A bars 233 to 310
What is a fugue?
A musical form in which parts enter one after the other with the main
What are the 3 main groups of instruments?
Concertino, ripieno, continuo
What is the concertino?
Group of soloists in a concerto grosso
What is the ripieno?
A group of instruments that consists of non-soloists
What is the time signature?
Written in 2/4 but has a gigue-like feel by using continous triplet quavers
What is a gigue?
A lively dance
What is counterpoint?
Two or more independent musical subjects that contrast with each other-it’s a form of polyphonic texture
How is texture created by using a fugue?
> melody starts the piece(subject) which is repeated at different pitches and is imitated by different instruments throughout the piece
this creates a complex moving texture of independent moving parts called counterpoint
How is the opening presented?
> violin plays the subject in bars 1 and 2 and then the countersubject
flute begins in bar 3 playing the subject 5 notes higher then the countersubject
harpsichord plays the subject in bar 9
What is terraced dynamics?
No crescendos or diminuedos and texture is created using dynamics
What does the subject start with?
An anacrusis
What is the subject and countersubject?
> subject is the main tune of a fugue
countersubject is a continuation of a musical line which often replies to the subject
What is a stretto?
Overlapping subjects in a fugue eg in bar 39 where the harpsichord LH plays the subject then in bar 40 the subject is in the RH
What is the texture of the piece?
> the main texture is counterpoint ‘tune against tune’ which is created by the use of the subject, answer and countermelody
homophonic texture in section B
beginning starts in monophonic
4 part texture
harpsichord plays in 2 part counterpoint but when both hands play its 4-part counterpoint
flute and violin double each other
What is countermelody?
A melodic line used to contrast the main tune of music and build texture
What is polyphonic texture?
A texture where lines of music move independently
What is the tonality of the piece?
> begins in D major
modulates to the dominant key which is A major
then modulates to E major(dominant of A major)
back to D major
How is each new key introduced?
> perfect cadences
Describe the melody of the piece
> uses variations of the subject
lots of ornamentation
fugal
conjunct but some leaps which are often extended to scalic runs esp in harpsichord part
sequence in harpsichord bars 114-118
melody builds on a 2-bar subject which is developed into a countermelody and answer motif
What is homophonic texture?
A texture based on chords
What is the harmony of the piece?
> diatonic
pedal is used in the cello and double bass from bars 11 to 104
functional harmony
some dominant 7th inversions
perfect cadences for end of sections
some suspensions
What is diatonic?
> involving only notes using major or minor keys
What is the sonority in the piece?
> Baroque flute
harpischord
double bass
violin
rest of string orchestra
What does ritardando mean?
> gradually decelerating the tempo
When was it composed
1721-in the Baroque period
