Life As A Violist: April 2016

The piece for this listening journal is the first movement of Bach's second Brandenburg Concerto, which can be found below:

Instrumentation:

Meter/Tempo/Rhythm:

Duple simple
Could be felt in a moderate 2/4 or a quick 4/4
If 2/4, moderato
If 4/4, allegro
Much of the piece uses the same rhythmic ostinato, all of which falls on the big beats
No syncopation

Melody:

There is one main melody that runs throughout the piece (the ritornello, belonging to the orchestra), and a second melody that is passed between the soloists. While one soloist has the melody, others have countermelodies or harmony.

The main melody is conjunct in the sixteenth runs, as they move stepwise up and down, but it is disjunct in the leaps (the greatest being a sixth).
The ranges of both melodies are extremely large as they are passed from instrument to instrument (each with their individual ranges) and contain many leaps that are often greater than a fifth.

Texture:

The texture is most definitely polyphonic, as more than one part has the melody at the time, and there are several existing countermelodies.
Because of the many countermelodies and conflicting parts, it is often hard to distinguish each instrumental part throughout the piece...the texture is a bit wild and messy (but not in the sense that there isn't a clear meter/rhythm).

Tonality:

I think it is late enough in the Baroque period to say that this piece is in a major key! At this point, the Western system of musical keys has been established and Bach utilizes it in his compositions.
It stays major until 1:37, where I believe it changes to a minor key and changes back to major around 1:52, and repeats this shift in key from 3:37-4:34, at the start of the second section.

Structure:

0:00-0:25 = ritornello (although there are no vocalists, the piece opens with a ritornello-like instrumental tutti which gives way to the many solos)
0:25-0:30 = violin solo
0:30-0:36 = ritornello
0:36-0:41 = violin and oboe solos
0:41-4:34 = passing back and forth solos with more intermixed melodies and harmonies
4:34-4:39 = ritornello
4:39-5:28 = variation on ritornello(?)

Context:

This piece is part of Bach's 6 Brandenburg Concertos, all of which have three unique movements. Concerto No. 2 in particular was composed in the early 1700s (~1718) for the Margrave of Brandenburg at the time.
The piece falls into the concerto grosso genre, as it requires an orchestral group and a soloist group, featuring the soloists yet giving the orchestral group melody during the recurring tutti ritornello sections.
As the piece was composed to be played in the margrave's court, it is bright and energetic to "show how a learned structure could be incorporated into popular entertainment" (Reel).

Life As A Violist