[1/2/2011] "Brandenburg"s for the holidays, Part 2 (continued)

The great Karl Richter -- regarded as something like Public Enemy No. 1 by modern-day Baroque-fetishist musical necrophiliacs -- conducts his Munich Bach Orchestra and plays the keyboard solo, with fellow soloists Paul Meisen (flute) and Otto Büchner (violin), in this 1970 video recording of the first movement of the Fifth Brandenburg Concerto. (The concerto concludes here.)


SO WHY ARE WE HEARING THE FINALES
OF THE THIRD AND SIXTH BRANDENBURGS?

It's always worth bearing in mind that Bach's underlying objective in assembling this set of six concertos for presentation to the Margrave of Brandenburg was to give an idea of the range of what he could do.

We already noted last week the strange configuration of No. 3. When it came to multiple instrumental parts, composers tended, and continued to tend, to think in terms of pairs, or even numbers generally. In the Third Brandenburg, however, as we noted last week, already unusual for its nonexistent slow movement, Bach wrote not one or two but three parts for violin, viola, and cello, at least in the opening Allegro. In the concluding Allegro he changed gears again, maintaining the tripartite division of violins and violas but lumping the three cello parts with the bass-continuo line. Let's listen again:

Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G, BWV 1048:
iii. Allegro

Oregon Bach Festival Chamber Orchestra, Helmuth Rilling, cond. Hänssler, recorded July 11-12, 1994

In No. 6, Bach really -- this time the whole concerto -- Bach did more or less the reverse, omitting the violins. Imagine that: no violins! You'll notice, though, that there are clearly three separate parts: for violas (or viole da braccia, "arm violas"), viole da gamba, the viola da gamba being a member of the soon-to-be-obsolete viol family which was played like the cello between the legs cello (seen here in Gainsborough's 1765 portrait of composer and viol player Carl Friedrich Abel), and cellos. We usually think of the viola da gamba as a precursor of the cello, but this Brandenburg reminds us that the two instruments at least for a time coexisted.

It's certainly possible to listen to the Sixth Brandenburg without noticing explicitly that the fiddles are missing, but the novel scoring surely creates a distinctive sound world. Let's listen to the finale of again:

Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B-flat, BWV 1051:
iii. Allegro

Oregon Bach Festival Chamber Orchestra, Helmuth Rilling, cond. Hänssler, recorded July 11-12, 1994


NOW FOR THE OFFICIAL PART OF TODAY'S PROGRAM,
LET'S HEAR THE BRANDENBURG CONCERTOS NOS. 4-6

Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G, BWV 1049

As I think we established in Friday night's preview, when you think "Brandenburg No. 4," you think "flutes." In choosing a performance for our first straight-through traversal of the Brandenburgs, I couldn't resist the star power of Ransom Wilson and Eugenia Zukerman, in the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's December 1995 set of "the six." By the way, the Chamber Music Society's current incarnation, under the joint artistic direction of cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han, made a new live recording of the Brandenburgs in December 2009 which is available for download for a mere $11.99. Now back to 1995:

i. Allegro
ii. Andante
iii. Presto

Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (David Shifrin, artistic director): Ransom Wilson and Eugenia Zukerman, flutes; Ani Kavafian, violin solo; John Gibbons, harpsichord; Todd Phillips and Daniel Phillips, violins; Steven Tenenbom, viola; Timothy Eddy, cello; Edgar Meyer, bass. Delos, recorded Dec. 20-22, 1995

Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D, BWV 1050

I've had to resist the overwhelming temptation to offer three or four or more performances of this altogether astounding work, even beyond our "historical" previews from last night I decided to go with Team Goldberg, which did us so proud in Vivaldi's Four Seasons. This generally relaxed, songful performance is hardly the only way to play the piece, but it's pretty wonderful. I've never heard any flute-and-violin duo play this music more beautifully than Hubert Barwahser and Szymon Goldberg.

i. Allegro
ii. Affettuoso
iii. Allegro

Hubert Barwahser, flute; Janny van Wering, harpsichord; Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Szymon Goldberg, violin and cond. Philips, recorded May 4-11, 1958

Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B-flat, BWV 1051

Peter Schreier conducting? Perhaps it's not so surprising to find him at the helm of this set of Brandenburgs. In his singing career the tenor probably performed more Bach than any conductor I can think of. The fact is, he produced a hearty and hardy, thoroughly enjoyable set, and a lively, sonorous No. 6.

i. Allegro
ii. Adagio ma non troppo
iii. Allegro

C.Ph.E. Bach Chamber Orchestra, Peter Schreier, cond. Philips, recorded April 1992


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