Brandenburg concerto no.5 in d major- Bach Flashcards
What key does this piece start in ?
D major key
What rhythms are used at the start?
Duple time.
Triplets and dotted rhythms are used- create a cheerful mood.
It is played allegro- ‘jig’ mood
At the beginning is the piece conjunct or disjunct?
conjunct melody
What is the texture of the piece?
The main texture of the movement is counterpoint, which means tune against tune.
There is a fugal texture- with a subject and an answer.
Piece is mostly polyphonic but it starts monophonic.
What is the melody like at the start of the piece (1-78)?
It is scalic-conjunct
There is virtuoso techniques
The third movement starts with the subject which begins with an
anacrusis.
There is polyphonic texture in bar 37.
In bar 63 there is a stretto -overlapping entries of the melody- creates texture.
What are the dynamic markings?
There are little-no dynamic markings as the harpsichord couldn’t play them.
Terraced dynamics
What is the melody like in the middle section?
There are ascending sequences.
Bar 79- there is a perfect cadences in d major.
More homophonic.
There is a basso continuo tonic pedal in bar 79.
There is a new theme in the violin.
There is antiphony between Harpsichord and strings+ flute.
Sequence descends near the end of section.
What key is the middle section in?
B minor
What dynamics are used in the middle section?
Terraced dynamics- Only p/pp
What key does it go into in bar 98?
F sharp minor
How do the flutes and violins play in bar 130?
In unison.
With circle of fifths progression.
Ascending virtuoso.
They play demi semi quavers.
What happens in bar 149?
There are appogiatura- lots of ornamentation makes the piece more interesting and exciting.
There is an A pedal in the contrabasso.
There is a perfect cadence of a major- makes the piece sound whole.
What instruments are used in this piece?
Flauto-flute
Violino principale- prinicpal violin.
Violino di ripieno+ viola da ripieno-upper strings.
Violincello- cello.
Contrabasso- double bass.
Cembalo concertato- harpsichord.
What happens in bar 164?
Changes back to b minor.
There is a long canon with strict imitation.
What key does bar 186 change into?
F sharp minor.
What is the structure of the piece?
The third movement has a simple 2/4 time signature. However, J.S. Bach creates a
gigue-like feel by writing continuous triplet quavers. In bar 110 the harpsichord plays triplet quavers, which are three quavers played in the space of two quavers.
The third movement employs a
fugue structure and texture. In a fugue a melody starts the piece (the subject), which is then repeated at different
pitches and imitated by different instruments throughout the work.
What happens in the melody from bar 198-end?
There is a dominant pedal on C sharp- bar 199.
There is polyphonic imitation-inversed- typical of baroque style.
There is lots of stretto-creates extra drama.
What key does it change back into in bar 230?
D major.
A repeat of bars 1-78 is shown.
What kind of AB structure is this piece?
A - bars 1 to 78 - fugal exposition
B - bars 79 to 232
A - bars 233 to 310
Who wrote this piece?
Johann Sebastian Bach.
Born in 1685 in germany.
Worked with many orchestras
When was this piece composed?
In the baroque period.
composed 1711-1720
What is the bass line ?
A basso continuo- plays under things the whole way through
MELODY key feature to write about
Stepwise conjunct movement-some leaps
There are rising sequences
There are lots of scalic runs
Lots of ornaments such as trills and grace notes -baroque key feature.
There’s an anacrusis at the start of the third movement.
HARMONY key features to write about
The music is diatonic -only uses notes from the key signature.
Perfect cadences announce the end of sections
The harmony is functional (perfect cadences are used to move between closely related key signatures).
Uses mainly root position or first inversion chords.
There are occasional suspensions
TEXTURE key features to write about
Polyphonic texture.
Use of imitation.
Movement begins in a fugal style.
There is unison from the flute and the violin.
The harpsichord plays in two part counterpoint.
Once all instruments are in they play in a four part counterpoint.
At the start of section B-tonic pedal on B.
Rhythm, tempo and metre
It is in 2/4
Lots of triplets and dotted rhythms are used.
The harpsichord plays lots of fast semiquaver runs.
The first subject starts with an anacrusis
SONORITY/INSTRUMENTS key features to write about
Solo flute, violin and harpsichord-concertino
The string orchestra are known as the ripieno
The bass cello and harpsichord sometimes act as the basso continuo
The harpsichord part is mainly virtuosic-lots of scalic runs.
TONALITY key features
Main tonality is d major.
The B section is the relative minor key of b minor
The A section is back to d major.
The key modulates to A major and E major
