Brandenburg Concerto Analysis

Question 1

What is a concerto grosso?

Answer 1

A Baroque piece for a group of soloists and orchestra

Question 2

What are the distinct features of Baroque music?

Answer 2

> ornamentation
contrasting sections eg dynamics from loud to soft
polyphonic writing
contrapuntal texture
harpsichord continuo

Question 3

What does continuo mean?

Answer 3

> the bass part in Baroque music usually played by a cello and used by chordal instruments eg harpsichord

Question 4

Differences between harpsichord and piano?

Answer 4

> 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

Question 5

What is a figured bass?

Answer 5

> a form of notation where numbers are added to a bassline indicating intervals to be added above the bass note to create a chord

Question 6

What is the tempo of the piece?

Answer 6

Allegro

Question 7

What is the structure of the piece?

Answer 7

Ternary form
A-bars 1 to 78 (fugal exposition)
B bars 79 to 232
A bars 233 to 310

Question 8

What is a fugue?

Answer 8

A musical form in which parts enter one after the other with the main

Question 9

What are the 3 main groups of instruments?

Answer 9

Concertino, ripieno, continuo

Question 10

What is the concertino?

Answer 10

Group of soloists in a concerto grosso

Question 11

What is the ripieno?

Answer 11

A group of instruments that consists of non-soloists

Question 12

What is the time signature?

Answer 12

Written in 2/4 but has a gigue-like feel by using continous triplet quavers

Question 13

What is a gigue?

Answer 13

A lively dance

Question 14

What is counterpoint?

Answer 14

Two or more independent musical subjects that contrast with each other-it’s a form of polyphonic texture

Question 15

How is texture created by using a fugue?

Answer 15

> 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

Question 16

How is the opening presented?

Answer 16

> 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

Question 17

What is terraced dynamics?

Answer 17

No crescendos or diminuedos and texture is created using dynamics

Question 18

What does the subject start with?

Answer 18

An anacrusis

Question 19

What is the subject and countersubject?

Answer 19

> subject is the main tune of a fugue
countersubject is a continuation of a musical line which often replies to the subject

Question 20

What is a stretto?

Answer 20

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

Question 21

What is the texture of the piece?

Answer 21

> 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

Question 22

What is countermelody?

Answer 22

A melodic line used to contrast the main tune of music and build texture

Question 23

What is polyphonic texture?

Answer 23

A texture where lines of music move independently

Question 24

What is the tonality of the piece?

Answer 24

> 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

Question 25

How is each new key introduced?

Answer 25

> perfect cadences

Question 26

Describe the melody of the piece

Answer 26

> 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

Question 27

What is homophonic texture?

Answer 27

A texture based on chords

Question 28

What is the harmony of the piece?

Answer 28

> 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

Question 29

What is diatonic?

Answer 29

> involving only notes using major or minor keys

Question 30

What is the sonority in the piece?

Answer 30

> Baroque flute
harpischord
double bass
violin
rest of string orchestra

Question 31

What does ritardando mean?

Answer 31

> gradually decelerating the tempo

Question 32

When was it composed

Answer 32

1721-in the Baroque period