An intellectual evening of Brandenburg concertos
On September 3rd, I spent an evening at Victoria Concert Hall in appreciation of Johann Sebastian Bach. It was the first time all six Brandenburg concertos were played in Singapore, and what a treat it was. The concertos were played by the Red Dot Baroque, a group of professional musicians brought together by a love for Baroque music.
Sitting through all six concertos was a highly intellectual process. I had not listened to the concertos for many years, and was reminded again of the genius of Bach in his motivic composition and timbral color. Each concerto was written for a unique variety of period instrumental combinations, including the violin, viola, viola da gamba, cello, lute, recorder, oboe, horn, bassoon, harpsichord. I had never before heard the natural horn live, a horn which does not have valves. I loved the dialogues between soloist and ensemble, various smaller choirs of instruments, and the unique textures that emerged from blends of string, woodwind, and brass when they were grouped together. The last movements of concerto no. 1 and no. 2 were particularly memorable in their constantly evolving exchanges between diverse instruments. I appreciated concerto no. 4, which was written for the “lower” instruments, featuring viola and cello solos. It is quite unusual for violas to have solos since most of the solo parts go to the violins in ensembles. I thought concerto no. 4 was reminiscent of Bach’s famous double violin concerto, and I noticed many similarities in the way thematic material interweaved between different soloists.
Bach has a way with motivic variation. I loved concerto no. 3 for its complexity that stemmed from just one motif. It was a tricky piece to play, and I noticed that the first movement ended a lot faster than it began. From my own experiences playing chamber and orchestral music, I recognize the tendency to rush—in unison—during complex exchanges between musicians, especially if they involve lots of running notes. I think this was the case during the first movement of concerto no. 3, but still I was impressed with the technical dexterity of the musicians who kept it together throughout.
Altogether I had a great evening. It was quite the intellectual exercise, focusing on all the elegant technicalities in Bach’s musical writing, and appreciating the musicianship of the group. The “violin dancing” on stage did make me chuckle amidst all the thinking I was doing.
A big thank you to Ms Viven Goh for inviting me.
