TheCompositionoftheBrandenburgConcerti

JohannSebastianBachssixBrandenburgconcertiareheraldedassomeofthegreatestworksof
theBaroqueera,andareoftenperformedtoday.Bachcompiledthesepreviouslycomposedsix
worksduringhistenureasKapellmeister(musicdirector)inCthen,inhonoroftheMargraveof
1

Brandenburg,ChristianLudwig. Forthesubmissionandcompilationoftheseworks,Bach
2

createdbeautifulhandwrittencopiesofthemusic. TheopeningsentenceofBachsdedication
presentedwiththeworksisasfollows:
AsIhadthegoodfortuneafewyearsagotobeheardbyYourRoyalHighness,atYour
Highness'scommands,andasInoticedthenthatYourHighnesstooksomepleasurein
thelittletalentswhichHeavenhasgivenmeforMusic,andasintakingLeaveofYour
RoyalHighness,YourHighnessdeignedtohonourmewiththecommandtosendYour
HighnesssomepiecesofmyComposition:IhaveinaccordancewithYourHighness's
mostgraciousorderstakenthelibertyofrenderingmymosthumbledutytoYourRoyal
HighnesswiththepresentConcertos,whichIhaveadaptedtoseveralinstruments
beggingYourHighnessmosthumblynottojudgetheirimperfectionwiththerigorofthat
discriminatingandsensitivetaste,whicheveryoneknowsHimtohaveformusicalworks,
butrathertotakeintobenignConsiderationtheprofoundrespectandthemosthumble
3
obediencewhichIthusattempttoshowHim.

BachwrotetheBrandenburgconcertiasconcertogrossi,orconcertosforgroupsof
instrumentswithaccompaniment.Notwooftheconcertihavethesameinstrumentation,giving
eachcompositionitsowndistincttimbre,andnoinstrumenthasanysolofunction(except
notablytheextendedharpsichordcadenzainthefifthconcerto).4Theinstrumentationfitsvery
closelywithwhatwasavailableinBachsorchestrainCthen,asidefromthefirstconcerto,
5

whichwasrewrittenforaspecialoccasion. Thereis,however,noevidencethattheMargraves
1

GilesMacDonogh,FredericktheGreat:ALifeinDeedandLetters,NewYork:St.MartinsGriffin,2001.
DavidR.Hickman,Schreiber,JohannLudwigTrumpetGreats:ABiographicalDictionary,editedbyMichel
LaplaceandEdwardH.Tarr.Chandler,AZ:HickmanMusicEditions,2013,716717.
3
O'JayBurgess,"ChicagoSymphonyOrchestraToPerformBachConcertosAtSymphonyCenterInDecember."
ClassicaliteRSS.AccessedJanuary18,2014.
http://www.classicalite.com/articles/929/20121204/chicagosymphonyorchestraperformbachconcertoscenter.htm.
4
LonTuck,"BoldBrandenburgs."TheWashingtonPost,June7,1985.
5
HeinrichBesseler,prefacetoStudyScoreoftheSixBrandenburgConcertos,NeueBachAusgabeEdition.Kassel:
2

orchestraeverperformedtheseworks,andthemanuscriptsweresoldatthetimeofthe
Margravesdeathin1734.SiegfriedWilhelmDehndidnotrediscoverthemanuscriptsuntil
1849,whentheywerefoundinthearchivesofBrandenburg.Theworkswerefirstpublishedthe
nextyear,in1850.6
BrandenburgConcertoNo.2isscoredfortrumpetinF,transverseflute,oboe,andviolin,
accompaniedbytwoviolins,viola,violone(largeviol),andbassocontinuo.Manyperformances
ofthisworkutilizerecorderinplaceofthetransverseflute,evenifitisnothistoricallycorrectto
doso.
TheNaturalTrumpet
ThetrumpetsimportanceinmilitaryfunctionsthroughouttheRenaissanceandBaroqueperiod
isindubitable.However,theBaroqueperiodalsosawtheacceptanceofthetrumpetintoart
7

music.Thisdividedtrumpettechniqueintotwodistincttypesfieldplayingandclarinoplaying.
Fieldplayingismoreequivalenttomilitarystyleplaying,mostlylivingwithinthewidelyplaced
fundamentalpitchesinthelowrangeofthenaturaltrumpet.Clarinoplaying,ontheotherhand,
requiredamorepreciseanddelicatecontrolofvolume,aswellastheabilitytoplayfluidlyinthe
upperregister.ThelatteroftheseiswhatistrulyrequiredofatrumpetplayerattemptingBachs
BrandenburgNo.2.
Today,mostperformerstakingonthesignificantchallengeofperformingBachs
BrandenburgNo.2choosetouseBflatorCpiccolotrumpettoassistwiththehightessitura,
accuracy,aswellasplayingintheappropriatelylightstyle.Thetimbreofthepiccolotrumpet

Brenreiter,1988.

6
MalcolmBoyd,Bach,theBrandenburgconcertos.NewYork,NY,USA:CambridgeUniversityPress,1993.
7
EdwardH.Tarr,TheTrumpet,trans.S.E.Plank.Chandler,AZ:HickmanMusicEditions,2008.60.

lendsitselftobeingverybrightsounding(especiallyinthelowerregister),whichissimilarto
thesoundofthenaturaltrumpetinFinthatregister.Thisisnottosuggesttherearenotmany
magnificentrecordingsofthisworkutilizingapiccolotrumpet,becausetherearemany,
includingthoseperformedbyHkanHardenberger,DavidHickman,WyntonMarsalis,Maurice
Andr,AdolfScherbaum,OttoSauter,anddozensofothers,whohavesuccessfullyperformed
8

andrecordedthisworkusingapiccolotrumpet. Otherperformershavedecidedtotakeonthe
difficultyoflearningandperformingtheBrandenburgonnaturaltrumpetsinF,withafew
modernaids.ThefirstrecordingofthisworkonnaturaltrumpetwasmadebyWalterHolyin
9

1964,doneonacoiledtrumpetbasedonthefamousHaussmannpaintingofGottfreidReiche.
10

EdwardTarrdidthesecondin1967,alsoonacoiledtrumpet. Inthemodernday,peopleoften
useventingholes,orholesinthetrumpetcoveredoropenedwithafingeroftheleftorright
handtomovenodalpointswithintheinstrumenttoalterproblematicpitches.Modernperformers
wellknownforusingventholesinnaturaltrumpetsareGabrieleCassone,NiklasEklund,
11

FriedemannImmer,EdwardTarr,andCrispianSteelePerkins.
Recently,thereisanewwaveofadvocatesfortrulyauthenticreproductionofworks
meanttobeperformedonthenaturaltrumpet.LeadingthechargeisJeanFranoisMadeuf,a
FrenchtrumpeterwhohasreleasednumerousrecordingsofBrandenburgNo.2onanatural
12

trumpetwithoutventholes orothertuningaids,usingaperiodmouthpiece.
TheNaturalHorn

WalterRoss,BWV10472ndBrandenburgConcerto,O.JsTrumpetPage,lastmodifiedNovember5,2013,
accessedNovember15,2013,http://abel.hive.no/trompet/bachbrandenburg/BWV1047.html.
9
Ibid.
10
Ibid.
11
Ibid.
12
Ibid.

Thenaturalhorn,thepredecessortothemodernFrenchhorn,wasusedprimarilyinhunting,as
opposedtomilitaryfunction.Thewaythisinstrumentchangespitchisdifferentinsomeways
thanthenaturaltrumpet.Hornplayersalsoutilizeamethodinvolvinghandstoppagetoalter
pitch.Becauseoftheshapeofthehuntinghorn(thefamiliarcoiledshapeofthemodernday
horn),playerswereabletoeasilyusetheirhandstoalterpitchestoplayoutsideoftheharmonic
series.Thistechniquebeingunavailableonthenaturaltrumpet,forcedtrumpeterstohavetoplay
inthehighestregister,wheretheharmonicsaremorescalar.
ArgumentforHorn
SomehistoriansbelievethatthenaturalhornistheinstrumentthatBachwasoriginallywriting
forinhisSecondBrandenburgConcerto.Thisconversationwasstartedbyamannamed
ThurstonDart(19211971),aBritishmusicologist,conductor,andkeyboardist.Hiswas
reportedlyoneofthefirsthistoricallyinformedrecordingsoftheBrandenburgconcertiwith
thePhilomusicaofLondon.Speculatingfromavarietyofdifferentpiecesofevidence,hecame
totheconclusionthatthetrumpetpartwasoriginallyintendedforhorn.
Firstly,advocatesforthissideoftheargumentinsistthatthepartissimplytoodifficultto
13

havebeenwrittenfortrumpet. Thehightessituraandkeyoftheinstrumentmakethepiecevery
unusuallydifficultfortrumpetcomparedtootherworksofthetime.BryanProkschstates:
Thedifficultyofthetrumpetpart,rootedinnosmallpartinhisuseoftheunusual
highpitchedtrombainF,haspresentedperformerswithaseeminglyirresistible
temptationtoreplaceBachstrumpetwithahornalmostfromthetimeofthecomposers
14
death.

MoresupportcomesfromtheHaussmannpaintingofGottfriedReiche,Bachsbestknown

13

BryanProksch,TheContextoftheTrombainFinJ.S.BachsSecondBrandenburgConcerto,BWV1047.
HistoricalBrassSocietyJournal2011:52.
14
Ibid.,43.

trumpeter.Inthispainting,Reicheisholdingacoiledinstrumentthatcouldmoreclosely
resemblethenaturalhornthanthenaturaltrumpet.Asetof18thcenturypartscopiedby
15

ChristianFriedrichPenzelallowsforsubstitutionofcornodacacciafortrumpet. Theargument
hereisthatBachessentiallywroteforwhateverwasavailable,andwouldnothavemindedwhich
instrumentwasactuallyusedinperformance.SupportersofthisviewalsocitetheusageoftheF
trumpetinGermanyoutsideofthisparticularwork,whichisratherrareasidefromanumberof
16

worksbyGeorgPhilippTelemann. BachoftenwroteforthetrumpetinCorD,butnotforthe
trumpetinF.
ArgumentforTrumpet
Muchoftheevidencefortrumpetbeingtheintendedinstrumentisbasedinsimplecommon
sense,andinturntheargumentforthissideismoresoagainsttheviewpresentedabovethanitis
anargumentdrivenbyitsownmomentum.Firstly,Bachbeinganorganistanddealingwiththe
subtletiesofsoundsandtextureonadailybasis,whywouldhefailtodifferentiatebetween
trumpetandhorn?Hewasnoignorantcomposerwhoonlyhadgeneralbrasssoundsinmind
whenwritinghisworkshewouldcertainlybeawareofthedifferencesintimbreandusageof
thehornandtrumpetinhisera.HeveryclearlywritesCornothroughouthisfirstconcerto,and
17

clearlywritesTrombathreeseparatetimesinthemanuscriptforBrandenburgNo.2.
ThereisalsonoevidencetosuggestthatBachwroteBrandenburg2withReicheinmind,
orthathewouldhaveusedtheinstrumenthewaspicturedwithinHaussmannsportraitto
performit.ReichewasatrumpetplayerthatBachknewinLeipzig,butBachcomposedhis

15

Ibid.
Ibid.,45.
17
JohannSebastianBach,"BrandenburgConcertoNo.2inFmajor,BWV1047(Bach,JohannSebastian)."
IMSLP/PetrucciLibrary.AccessedNovember24,2013.
http://imslp.org/wiki/Brandenburg_Concerto_No.2_in_F_major,_BWV_1047_(Bach,_Johann_Sebastian).
16

18

BrandenburgconcertiinCthen. IfBachhadanytrumpeterinmindwhilewritingthiswork,it
ismuchmorelikelytohavebeenJohannLudwigSchreiber,thecourttrumpeterinCthen.
ThereportedrarityofFtrumpetsinEuropeatthetimeisfalse.TheFtrumpetwasused
ofteninthemilitaryinbothItalyandGermany.Obtainingatrumpetinthiskeywouldhavebeen
easyinthattimeperiod.Althoughthereisasetofcopiedpartsfromthe18thcenturybyPenzel
thatallowsforcornodacacciatobeusedinplaceofatrumpet,Bachsoriginalscoreclearly
indicatestrumpet,asseenintheattachedphotograph(Image1,attached)19 .Throughout
BrandenburgNo.2thereareanumberofveryawkwardregisterjumpsthatareclearlywritten
becauseoftheovertoneseriesofthenaturaltrumpet,asseeninmovementIII,measures4446
(Figure1,attached)20.Ifthisweretobeplayedonhorn,thoseawkwardjumpscouldbeavoided
becauseallnotesinthephrasecouldbeplayedinthesameregister.Inreality,theassertionthat
Bachwasambiguouswithhisnamingofinstrumentationishardtosupport.
Conclusion
HistorianstodayagreethatBrandenburgConcertoNo.2waswrittenfortrumpet,andnothorn.
TrumpeterssuchasFriedemannImmerandJeanFranoisMadeufhaveprovedthatthepart,
althoughdifficult,canbeperformedwellontrumpet.

Bibliography

Bach,JohannSebastian."BrandenburgConcertoNo.2inFmajor,BWV1047(Bach,Johann
Sebastian)."IMSLP/PetrucciMusicLibrary.AccessedNovember24,2013.
http://imslp.org/wiki/Brandenburg_Concerto_No.2_in_F_major,_BWV_1047_(Bach,_Jo
hann_Sebastian).
18

DonSmithers,Bach,Reiche,andtheLeipzigCollegiaMusica,HistoricBrassSocietyJournal2,(1990):151.
Bach,Ibid.
20
Ibid.
19


Besseler,Heinrich.PrefacetoStudyScoreoftheSixBrandenburgConcertos,byJohann
SebastianBach,NeueBachAusgabeEdition.Kassel:Brhenreiter,1988.

Boyd,Malcolm.Bach,TheBrandenburgConcertos.NewYork:CambridgeUniversity
Press,1993.

Burgess,O'Jay."ChicagoSymphonyOrchestraToPerformBachConcertosAtSymphony
CenterIn
December."ClassicaliteRSS.AccessedJanuary18,2014.
http://www.classicalite.com/articles
/929/20121204/chicagosymphonyorchestraperformbachconcertoscenter.htm.

Ericson,John.TheNaturalHorn.ASUHornStudio.AccessedNovember15,2013.
http://www.public.asu.edu/~jqerics/playnaturalhorn.html.

Hickman,DavidR.Schrieber,JohannLudwigTrumpetGreats:ABiographicalDictionary,
editedbyMichelLaplaceandEdwardH.Tarr.Chandler,AZ:HickmanMusicEditions,
2013,716717.

Proksch,Bryan.TheContextoftheTrombainFinJ.S.BachsSecondBrandenburgConcerto,
BWV1047.HistoricalBrassSocietyJournal,2011:4366.

Ross,Walter.BWV10472ndBrandenburgConcerto.O.JsTrumpetPage.LastModified
November5,2013.AccessedNovember15,2013.http://abel.hive.no/trompet/bach
brandenburg/BWV1047.html.

Smithers,Don.Bach,Reiche,andtheLeipzigCollegiaMusica.HistoricBrassSocietyJournal
2.(1990):151.

Smithers,Don.GottfriedReichesAnsehenundseinEinfluaufdieMusikJohannSebastian
Bachs,BachJahrbuch73,(1987):113150.

Tarr,Edward.TheTrumpet.TranslatedbyS.E.Plank.Chandler,AZ:HickmanMusicEditions,
2008.

Tuck,Lon."BoldBrandenburgs."TheWashingtonPost,June7,1985.