Brandenburg Concertos
Originally called “Concertos with Several Instruments”, Bach wrote these works as a job application for Christian Ludwig, the Margrave (Prince) of Brandenburg, only to be ghosted by him! I gotta say, it’s comforting to know that even Bach got ghosted sometimes.
So what makes these pieces so special?
This collection took the form of ‘concerto’ to a whole new level. He went a little off the rails with his strange instrumentations, solo choices, and use of forgotten instruments like the viola de gamba and the violino piccolo. The heads of each section are traditionally the ones to perform solo material, but Bach threw that all out the window for the third (and most famous) Brandenburg concerto, and elected to make everyone a soloist.
As you can see, this concerto was written for 9 solo instruments (3 violins, 3 violas, and 3 cellos) and harpsichord. Definitely not something you see everyday! The form of the concerto is fast-slow-fast, pretty standard, right? But wait until you hear the second movement–if we can even call it a movement! This would have normally been an opportunity for a soloist to show off and improvise a transition to the next movement, but the Voices of Music ensemble chose not to. That’s the beauty of Baroque music: freedom!
Sources:
https://www.classicfm.com/composers/bach/music/johann-sebastian-bach-brandenburg-concertos/
https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/pieces/4842/brandenburg-concertos
https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/pieces/1127/brandenburg-concerto-no-3