Brandenburg Concertos 1, 3 and 6
featuring Jack Gonzalez-Harding on Harpsichord
Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos are considered to be amongst the pinnacle of Baroque composition. Each one uses a different combination of instruments and shows off different musical styles popular during Bach’s lifetime, from the French minuet to the counterpoint for which the composer himself is so well known. Bach composed the Brandenburg Concertos in 1721 at a time of transition in his life: he’d enjoyed a tremendous run as music director in the court of the German Prince Leopold, but his job security was beginning to look uncertain. It was against this backdrop that he composed these six works for Christian Ludwig, the Margrave of Brandenburg (then a territory in the Kingdom of Prussia).
The Harpsichord Concerto in D minor is the first of eight composed in around 1738. As so often in Bach’s works he had previously written all three movements for two of his cantatas and a sinfonia.
British conductor and harpsichordist Jack Gonzalez-Harding directs a team of world-renowned period soloists in this performance of the father of western classical music’s great secular works including Piers Adams (recorder), Julia Bishop (violin) and Daniel Swani (flute).
Brandenburg Concerto No 3
Harpsichord Concerto in D Minor
Brandenburg Concerto No 6
Brandenburg Concerto No 1
