Bach's Brandenburg Concertos (The ABS Guides Series)

Bach's Brandenburg Concertos are among the most important works in the Western music repertoire. Animated, engaging, and delightfully complex, they represent Bach at the peak of his powers, writing music to impress a royal audience of connoisseurs. This book describes the background of the works: what constitutes a concerto and how Bach came to compile a set of six such pieces for the Margrave of Brandenburg. It explores the ensemble and music of each individual concerto, and concludes by examining the way Bach reused the music in his cantatas and instrumental pieces as well as the Concertos' slow rise from obscurity to blockbuster status.