No. 1 in F, for two horns, three oboes and bassoon, with strings
No. 2 in F, for violin, flute, oboe, trumpet, with strings
No. 3 in G, for three string orchestras
No. 4 in G, for violin and two flutes, with strings
No. 5 in D, for pianoforte, flute, and violin, with strings
No. 6 in B, for two viole da braccia, two viole da gamba, violoncello,
and bass
* * *
The six Brandenburg Concertos, completed on March 24, 1721, were written
in answer to the wish of a Prussian prince, Christian Ludwig, Margraf of
Brandenburg, the youngest son of the Great Elector by a second wife.
This prince was provost of the Cathedral at Halberstadt. He was a
bachelor, living now at Berlin and now on his estate at Malchow. Fond of
music, and not in an idle way, he was extravagant in his tastes and mode
of life, and often went beyond his income of nearly fifty thousand
thalers. In May, 1718, Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen, at whose court
Bach was _Kapellmeister_, journeyed to Carlsbad to drink the waters. He
took with him Bach and a quintet from his orchestra; also his
clavicembalo with three “servants to care for it”; he was also thus
attended when he visited Carlsbad in 1720. The Margraf may have been at
Carlsbad, and as he was very fond of music and had his own orchestra, he
undoubtedly attended Leopold’s musical parties. At any rate, he gave
Bach a commission. It was on March 24, 1721, that Bach—possibly someone
at the Court—wrote a dedication in French:
_“A son altesse royale, Monseigneur Crétien Louis, Margraf de
Brandenbourg, etc., etc., etc._
“_Monseigneur_,
“Two years ago, when I had the honor of playing before your Royal
Highness, I experienced your condescending interest in the
insignificant musical talents with which heaven has gifted me, and
understood your Royal Highness’s gracious willingness to accept some
pieces of my composition. In accordance with that condescending
command, I take the liberty to present my most humble duty to your
Royal Highness in these Concerti for various instruments, begging your
Highness not to judge them by the standards of your own refined and
delicate taste, but to seek in them rather the expression of my
profound respect and obedience. In conclusion, Monseigneur, I most
respectfully beg your Royal Highness to continue your gracious favor
toward me, and to be assured that there is nothing I so much desire as
to employ myself more worthily in your service.
“With the utmost fervor, Monseigneur, I subscribe myself,
“Your Royal Highness’s most humble and most obedient servant,
“Jean Sebastian Bach.
“Coethen, 24 March, 1721.”[1]
These concertos—“_Concerts avec plusieurs instruments_”—were intended as
a gift for the Margraf’s birthday in March. Nothing is known about the
reception in Berlin, nor is it positively known whether they were ever
played at the palace of the Margraf. “The condition of the autograph
suggests that, like the parts of the ‘Kyrie’ and ‘Gloria’ of the B minor
Mass at Dresden, it was never performed by the recipient.” It was the
Margraf’s habit to catalogue his library. The name of Bach was not found
in the list, although the names of Vivaldi, Venturini, Valentiri,
Brescianello, and other writers of concertos were recorded. After the
death of the Margraf in 1734, Bach’s score was put for sale with other
manuscripts in a “job lot.” The Brandenburg Concertos came into the
possession of J. P. Kirnberger. They were later owned by the Princess
Amalie, sister of Frederick the Great and a pupil of Kirnberger. Their
next and final home was the Royal Library, Berlin, No. 78 in the
Amalienbibliothek. They were edited by S. W. Dehn and published by
Peters, Leipsic, in 1850.