Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major, BWV 1048 (1721) – I. Allegro;
II. Adagio (Cadenza); III. Allegro – Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Muse (2007) – I. brilliant, fiery; II. with a light touch, ornate; III. willful, deliberate – Christopher Theofanidis (1967–)
Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F Major, BWV 1047 (1721) – I. (no tempo indicated); II. Andante; III. Allegro assai – J.S. Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D Major, BWV 1050 (1721) – I. Allegro;
II. Affetuoso; III. Allegro – J.S. Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B-flat Major, BWV 1051 (1721) – I. Allegro; II. Adagio ma non tanto; III. Allegro – J.S. Bach
Orpheus is a chamber orchestra that plays without a conductor—instead, different players within the group take on leadership responsibilities for different pieces. When I looked at the program Tuesday evening, I thought to myself, “Won’t there be a lot of the same sort of music over and over?” It turns out that the Brandenburgs are different enough in terms of scoring and musical ideas that my fears were ungrounded. Brandenburg 3 was scored for ten strings and harpsichord. The first movement was mostly tutti (all playing together) and was bright but not flashy, with a nice mix of dynamics. A linking theme was a solid unison, including octaves, at the ends of phrases and sections. The slower second movement was very brief, and then it moved right into the third movement that was a chugging rhythmic section, the bulk of the movement. Very enjoyable.
The second piece was created as a companion piece to Brandenburg 3. Its first movement had modern rhythmic phrases in the style of Philip Glass or John Adams, but they were more accessible, aurally, and were passed back and forth from section to section in the orchestra. The second movement seemed feathery but grounded. A smoother section came into play, though still having modern harmonies and phrases leading to a rather eerie ending. The third movement was brisk and strong. It wandered a little—everything tied together at the end, but a little weakly, to my ear. This piece had a larger violin section than Br 3.
That said, reconfiguring the stage between pieces was somewhat disconcerting (pun intended). In this case, four music stands were brought to the forestage for the soloists, who were for the most part stepping out of the orchestra. The soloists for Branndenburg 2 were Elizabeth Mann, flute; Roni Gal-Ed, oboe; Caleb Hudson, trumpet; and Eric Wyrick, violin. The opening of the first movement seemed a little more sophisticated to me, possibly because of the added instruments. It had a nice brisk tempo. The second movement, quieter, was scored for flute, oboe, and violin, and was quite lovely. The third movement began with trumpet, oboe, and cello, soon joined by the violin and flute, and finally the entire orchestra. The movement is almost a mini concerto that was sort of playful but with solidity. I jotted a note that said, “Full sized trumpet?” When reading about Br 2 online, I found that it often uses a piccolo trumpet, and that might have been the case here, though it was not mentioned in the program notes. At any rate, the trumpet plays in a very high part of its range throughout, which lends a certain excitement to the work.
Brandenburg 5 had Ms. Mann, flute; Areta Zhulla, violin; and Paolo Bordignon, harpsichord as soloists. In general, though this piece was scored for smaller forces than the previous selection, the first movement was lively and featured the harpsichord a lot more, though with the violin and flute joining in as well, with the orchestral strings as accompaniment. An extensive harpsichord cadenza (a solo that can sometimes have improvisations included) led back to a brief recap of the opening of the movement. The second movement was harpsichord, violin and flute only with an opening that was quiet and almost sad. The fact that three instruments can hold our attention in this manner is a testament to the genius of Bach; he had us wrapped around his little finger (and rapt, as well). The third movement is violin, flute, harpsichord, and cello, before being joined by the strings in a stately but lively section, if that makes sense. The stateliness prevailed.
Brandenburg 6 is scored for very small forces—two violas, three cellos, one bass, and harpsichord (I think). The viola soloists were Dov Scheindlin and Nardo Poy. Even though the first movement had a bright feel and mode, the lower pitched instruments lent a slightly darker, heftier tone. The second movement didn’t quite seem to work as well for me, possibly due to the thinner forces. It was compelling at times, but just had too few compelling moments for me, and it had a slightly unresolved ending. The third movement was nice and bright, just the right antidote to the second movement. This one is often played as a stand-alone movement. It seems to sum up the Brandenburg experience, even with its reduced forces.
ConcertMeister
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