Bach violin concerto no. 2 program notes

After the opening ritornello statement by the full ensemble in the first movement, Bach introduces the solo violin with only continuo accompaniment followed by an abbreviated ritornello. Then, the solo oboe enters accompanied by the violin. This pattern continues, each soloist handing off the melody to the next, separated by a short ritornello, until all four instruments have been presented.

They are mixed and matched in intricate patterns for the remainder of the movement. Bach withholds the trumpet from the second movement, a graceful dance in minor,. Concerto No. Instead, Bach scores it for two new-style instruments called violas da braccio held by the arms , two old-style violas da gamba held by the legs , and cello accompanied by continuo.

The new-style violas and cello are featured in the last two movements, where the violas da gamba either do not play, as in the second movement. Bach uses only high-range instruments, violin and two recorders, as the soloists in Concerto No. With its focus on long-held notes in the recorders and the sparse accompaniment, the first movement engenders a focused, yet leisurely, pace.

While the two solo recorders are easily heard, it can be difficult to hear a solo violin among the rest of the strings. Bach wrote over compositions; astonishingly, only three extant violin concertos remain. It is more than likely others were composed and eventually lost.

During his first term in Weimar, —, the teenaged Bach was appointed as violinist in the orchestra, and he also played violin in his second term in Weimar, — At this time in his life the early term he was especially drawn to Italian music, and assiduously studied the music of Vivaldi, and Corelli, and Torelli, who were the first important concerto composers—both in the concerto grosso structure and early solo concerto formats.

Vivaldi was quite popular in Germany. After Bach moved to Cothen — , he was in the service of Prince Leopold.

Since the Prince was a Calvinist, the composer had ample time to write secular music he had to supply weekly music for the court , and he made the most of that opportunity. Among similar organizations in Germany the Leipzig group was renowned.

Such Collegia are to be found in various places. In Leipzig, the Bachian Collegium Musicum is more famous than all others. We lack details about the repertory the Collegium performed, but it seems logical to imagine that it included concertos emanating out of Italy, by such composers as Torelli, Vivaldi, and Albinoni, as well as up-to-date concertos and orchestral suites by such German masters as Georg Philipp Telemann.

The assumption is based on slender evidence at best, and recent thought promulgated by the eminent Bach scholar Christoph Wolff favors the possibility that they actually originated in Leipzig around —especially the A minor Concerto. The work played at these concerts continues to be heard to this day in both versions, as a concerto for violin and as a concerto for harpsichord. Both are accepted as authentic Bachian settings, but there is little question that, no matter when it was written, the violin version came first.

Economy of means is an artistic virtue—making the most of little—and Bach was the master of it. Soli Deo gloria. The small group of soloists in this case consists of two hunting horns, three oboes, a bassoon, and a piccolo violino played today on an ordinary violin. The small group rarely plays completely by itself, but distinguishes itself through a constant stream of solo passages from the individual members. The usual three movements occur—fast, slow, fast—but, Bach in this concerto has added a rather substantial fourth movement of dances.

It bears fruit to observe how Bach contrasts the minuet always played by the full orchestra with the various combinations of soloists in the two trios and polacca. As pointed out earlier, the transverse flute is often substituted for the block flute recorder. In this concerto the attentive listener will note the frequent alternation between solo and large groups. The last movement is quite dominated by the small group of soloists, the large group not entering until well into the movement.

Buckley—who adored Bach. The first movement contrasts sections where everyone plays in unison with sections for the three violins, then three violas, and then three cellos. There are only two movements—both fast—actually written by Bach of the expected usual three , but there are two cadential chords written to serve as a bridge between the two movements. While in some performances the harpsichord simply plays the two chords before the groups sails off into the last movement, it has become traditional—and certainly follows the practice of the time—to allow the harpsichordist an opportunity to indulge in the improvisation of a significant cadenza at this point.

The last movement takes up the exuberance of the first with even more cheerful ferocity. An unusual sound occurs in the slow middle movement where the solo violin is taken out of its customary high register and given, of all things, the low bass line to play, underneath the flutes. Both of the fast movements provide ample opportunity for the solo violinist to amaze us with dazzle: cascades of dizzying scales, double and triple stops, as well as challenging string crossing.

It is also noteworthy to point out that this is the first composition of his oeuvre wherein Bach calls for the transverse flute, so familiar today, and not the recorder. Finally, the harpsichord player gets to step to the front of the stage!

Now, however, Bach has written out a true virtuosic part for the harpsichordist. As pointed out earlier, Bach called for the now-obsolete at least in the modern orchestra viole da gamba , replaced now by cellos. The first movement is rather like a fugue—what else would you expect of Bach? In the second slow movement the viola da gamba parts are silent, leaving the field to the quiet beauty of just two solo violas and the small accompaniment group.