Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F Major

Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F major is the most richly scored of the six concertos, juxtaposing three groups of instruments—two horns, three oboes plus bassoon and strings. The horns immediately grab the attention with their brash hunting calls, which joyfully clash with the rest of the orchestra. These outdoor instruments were strangers in the elegant rooms where Bach’s music was performed and must originally have caused a sensation. The second movement (“Adagio”) is a deeply felt lament with closely intertwined parts for solo oboe and piccolo violin (tuned a third higher than a standard violin). The piccolo violin makes a bid for virtuoso status in the third movement (“Allegro”) but never quite achieves it, initially having to borrow its musical material from the orchestra, and later when it finally gets a few ideas of its own, having to compete with other instruments for the spotlight. Bach rounds off the only concerto of the six with more than three movements with a set of dances linked by repetitions of a sturdy minuet. About J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos The Brandenburg Concertos are the greatest job application ever assembled. In 1721, Bach dedicated his score to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg, not in fulfilment of a commission, but hoping to impress his way into the Margrave’s service. The title Brandenburg Concertos was actually invented by Bach’s first biographer in 1873; Bach himself just referred to them as Six Concertos for Several Instruments. They were not conceived as a set, nor intended specifically for the Margrave, but were mostly written during Bach’s time as Kapellmeister at the court of Cöthen (1717-23). Here he worked with a varied and talented group of instrumentalists who spurred him on to explore the potential of the concerto, which he reinvented with each new work.