Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major by Bach

Context and genre(features of baroque)

• Baroque: Concerto grosso (a large concerto for a group a soloist. More than one soloist)

• Features of Baroque;

• Ornamented melodic lines

• Harpsichord no sustain or dynamics

• Perfect cadences and sections

• Terraced dynamics no dynamic marking in the score (dynamics acheived by varying the number of parts playing)

• Use of diatonic chords, functional harmony

• Basso continuo

• Imitation and Sequences

• Different textures, monophonic homophonic and polyphonic (contrapunct)

• Short motif

• A mood'affection' in a given movement

Instrumentation

• especially virtuoso solo part for harpsichord, scalic runs, trills both hands

• Harpsichord could not sustain notes (only possible using trills) or play with dynamics. It is part of both ripieno and concertino.

• Ripieno (group of accompanists: Violin, Viola, Cello, Contrabass, Harpsichorx)

• Basso continuo (Harpsichord, contra-bass, cello)

• Concertino (Group of soloists: Violin, flute, harpsichord)

Structure

• Ternary structure (ABA)

• Ritornello

• A in D major, briefly in A major(dominant)

• B in B minor(relative minor), A major, end with perfect cadence in B minor

• A in D major

Texture

• Mainly polyphonic/contrapuntal

• Begins monophonic

• Then fugal style (fugue = complicated polyphonic piece that uses imitation throughout)

• Fugal subject by violin followed by tonal answer in flute. Two part imitation

• Harpsichord left hand subject right hand answer

• Harpsichord plays in two point counterpoint

• Occasionally Flute and violin play in thirds. So does harpsichord

• Ripieno playing, flute and violin in unison

• Soloists play in four part counterpoint

• Bass part plays tonic pedal in middle section (B)

stretto (entries closer together=tension)

Melody

• mainly conjunct, though there are leaps such as a 4th in fugal subject or 5th in tonal answer

• Conjunct melody extended ro scalic parts especially in harpsichord part

• Rising sequences

• Occasional ornaments. Trills in harpsichord, appogiaturas in middle section

• Diatonic

• Virtuosic harpsichord part

• Short motifs, fugal subject and tonal answer

Tonality

• D major mostly used

• B section modulates to A major amd B minor

— Diatonic music

Harmony

• Functional harmony, standard chords(I, IV, V)

• Dominant sevenths in many iversions

• Root position or 1st inversions

• Perfect cadences

• Suspensions used occasionally

• Tonic and dominant pedals in B section

Tempo, metre, rhythm

• metre in 2/4, but triplet quavers make it sound like 6/8, typical time signature for a Baroque gigue

• Tempo is Allegro (fast) and doesn’t change

• Triplets and dotted rhythms throughout

• harpsichord has many semiquaver-runs