In the overview table, the first column shows the title, the second the
key, the third the number in the
Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (BWV), the fourth the prominent instruments (solo).
Concerto No. 1 in F major, BWV 1046 {{listen|type=music|header=Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 Title on autograph score:
Concerto 1mo à 2 Corni di Caccia, 3 Hautb: è Bassono, Violino Piccolo concertato, 2 Violini, una Viola è Violoncello, col Basso Continuo. Instrumentation: two
corni da caccia (natural horns), three
oboes,
bassoon,
violino piccolo, two
violins,
viola and
basso continuo (
harpsichord,
cello,
viola da gamba and/or
violone) The
Brandenburg Concerto No. 1, BWV 1046.2 (BWV 1046), is the only one in the collection with four
movements. The concerto also exists in an alternative version, Sinfonia BWV 1046.1 (formerly BWV 1046a), which appears to have been composed during Bach's years at Weimar. The Sinfonia, which lacks the third movement entirely, and the Polacca (or Poloinesse,
polonaise) from the final movement, appear to have been intended as the opening of the cantata
Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd, BWV 208. This implies a date of composition possibly as early as the 1713 premiere of the cantata, although it could have been used for a subsequent revival. The first movement can also be found as the sinfonia of a later
cantata Falsche Welt, dir trau ich nicht, BWV 52, but in a version without the piccolo
violin that is closer to Sinfonia BWV 1046a. The third movement was used as the opening chorus of the cantata
Vereinigte Zwietracht der wechselnden Saiten, BWV 207, where the horns are replaced by trumpets.
Concerto No. 2 in F major, BWV 1047 {{listen|type=music|header=Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 Title on autograph score:
Concerto 2do à 1 Tromba, 1 Flauto, 1 Hautbois, 1 Violino, concertati, è 2 Violini, 1 Viola è Violone in Ripieno col Violoncello è Basso per il Cembalo. After clarino skills were lost in the eighteenth century and before the rise of the
historically informed performance movement of the late twentieth century, the part was often played on the
piccolo trumpet in B, and occasionally on a
French horn. The clarino does not play in the second movement, as is common practice in baroque era concerti. This is due to its construction, which allows it to play only in major keys. Because concerti often move to a minor key in the second movement, concerti that include the instrument in their first movement and are from the period before the valved trumpet was commonly used usually exclude the trumpet from the second movement. The first movement of this concerto was chosen as the first musical piece to be played on the
Voyager Golden Record, a phonograph record containing a broad sample of Earth's common sounds, languages, and music sent into outer space with the two
Voyager probes. The first movement served as a theme for
Great Performances in the early-to-mid 1980s, while the third movement served as the theme for
William F. Buckley Jr.'s
Firing Line; a revival featuring
Margaret Hoover also used the first movement. Recent research has revealed that this concerto is based on a lost chamber music version for quintet called "Concerto da camera in Fa Maggiore" (Chamber Concerto in F major), whose catalogue number is BWV 1047R. It is similar to the
orchestral version, in that the trumpet, flute, oboe and solo violin parts are the same, but the orchestra part has been arranged for basso continuo (or piano) by Klaus Hofmann. This reconstructed quintet arrangement is also the very first piano reduction of the 2nd Brandenburg Concerto ever published by Bärenreiter Verlag (Product Number BA 5196).
Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048 Title on autograph score:
Concerto 3zo à tre Violini, tre Viole, è tre Violoncelli col Basso per il Cembalo. and although there is no direct evidence to support it, it is likely that these chords were meant to surround or follow a
cadenza improvised by the harpsichord or a solo violin player. Modern performance approaches range from simply playing the cadence with minimal ornamentation (treating it as a sort of "musical semicolon"), to cadenzas varying in length from under a minute to over two minutes. Occasionally, other slow movements from Bach pieces, such as the Largo from the Sonata for Violin and Continuo in G, BWV 1021 and the Largo from the Sonata for Violin and Obbligato Harpsichord in G major,
BWV 1019, are substituted for the second movement as they contain an identical 'Phrygian cadence' as the closing chords. The outer movements use the
ritornello form found in many instrumental and vocal works of the time. The first movement can also be found in reworked form as the sinfonia of the cantata
Ich liebe den Höchsten von ganzem Gemüte, BWV 174, with the addition of three
oboes and two
horns. This concerto is the shortest of the six.
Concerto No. 4 in G major, BWV 1049 {{listen|type=music|help=no|header=Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 Title on autograph score: '''''Concerto 4to à Violino Principale, due Fiauti d'Echo, due Violini, una Viola è Violone in Ripieno, Violoncello è Continuo.''''' although transverse flutes are sometimes used instead: it is also theorised Bach's original intent may have been the
flageolet. In some performances, such as those conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, the two recorders are positioned offstage, thus giving an "echo" effect. Bach adapted the 4th Brandenburg concerto as a harpsichord concerto,
BWV 1057. The work appears prominently in several YouTube video essays, as well as the 1962 novel
Island by
Aldous Huxley.
Concerto No. 5 in D major, BWV 1050 Title on autograph score:
Concerto 5to à une Traversiere, une Violino principale, une Violino è una Viola in ripieno, Violoncello, Violone è Cembalo concertato. An earlier version, BWV 1050a, exists, and has many small differences from its later cousin, but no major difference in structure or instrumentation. It is dated ca. 1720–21.
Concerto No. 6 in B-flat major, BWV 1051 Title on autograph score:
Concerto 6to a due Viole da Braccio, due Viole da Gamba, Violoncello, Violone e Cembalo. The two violas start the first movement with a vigorous subject in close
canon, and as the movement progresses, the other instruments are gradually drawn into the seemingly uninterrupted steady flow of melodic invention which shows the composer's mastery of
polyphony. The two violas da gamba are silent in the second movement, leaving the texture of a trio
sonata for two violas and continuo, although the cello has a decorated version of the continuo bass line. In the last movement, the spirit of the
gigue underlies everything, as it did in the finale of the fifth concerto. The beginning of the third movement is used in the background for
American Public Media's
ident. == Notes ==