Brandenburg Concertos

A set of six concertos (BWV1046-51) composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. The name comes from the fact that it was dedicated to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg, in 1721. However, it is believed that the set was not composed for the Margrave from the beginning, but rather that six concertos composed before were selected and transcribed and dedicated to him. The instrumentation and content of these concertos were not suitable for the Margrave's court orchestra, which at the time only had six members, so it would be more appropriate to consider that they were composed for the court orchestra in Cöthen, where Bach was the conductor at the time. However, there is much disagreement about the dates of composition of each piece, and no conclusive conclusion has been reached at present.

The six pieces were written for different instrumental arrangements, but they can be broadly divided into concertos in which each instrument is treated equally (No. 1 in F major, No. 3 in G major, No. 6 in B flat major), and so-called "concerto grosso" in which the solo instruments compete with the string ensemble (No. 2 in F major, No. 4 in G major, No. 5 in D major). All of the pieces are filled with joyful musical ideas, and are particularly popular among Bach's works.

[Yukio Miyake]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

大バッハが作曲した6曲からなる協奏曲集（BWV1046～51）。1721年ブランデンブルク辺境伯クリスチャン・ルートウィヒに献呈されたことからこの名称が生まれた。しかし、この曲集は最初から辺境伯のために作曲されたものではなく、それ以前に作曲された協奏曲のなかから6曲を選んで浄書・献呈したものとみられている。これらの協奏曲の楽器編成と内容が、当時わずか6名のメンバーしかいなかった辺境伯の宮廷楽団にふさわしくないためで、むしろ、当時バッハが楽長を務めていたケーテンの宮廷楽団のために作曲されたとみるのが妥当であろう。ただ個々の曲の作曲年代については異論が多く、現在のところ決定的な結論は出ていない。

　6曲はそれぞれ異なった楽器編成で書かれているが、各楽器が同等に扱われる協奏曲（第1番ヘ長調、第3番ト長調、第6番変ロ長調）と、独奏楽器群が弦楽合奏に対抗するいわゆる「合奏協奏曲」（第2番ヘ長調、第4番ト長調、第5番ニ長調）とに大別される。いずれの曲も愉悦に満ちた楽想で、バッハの作品のなかでもとりわけ人気がある。

［三宅幸夫］

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