J.S. Bach: Harpsichord Concertos

Featuring

Andrew Arthur
Hanover Band
Johann Sebastian Bach

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Compositional Technique

Despite the harpsichord's virtuosity, it remains integrated within the ensemble in these concertos, often retreating from prominence, reflecting that the idea of a keyboard dominating as a soloist was a future concept.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Bach's harpsichord concertos represent the culmination of his long-term exploration of the harpsichord's potential as a concertante instrument.

Composition History

Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, BWV 1050, is considered groundbreaking because it features the harpsichord as a solo instrument, a role it had not previously held in chamber or orchestral music.

Composition History

Many of Bach's harpsichord concertos, including some on this album, are reworkings of earlier instrumental pieces or cantata movements, often featuring other instruments like violin, woodwind, or organ as the solo voice.

Performer Biography

The Hanover Band, founded by Caroline Brown in 1980, has an international reputation for excellence in performing and recording 18th- and 19th-century music, with over 170 recordings.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Bach's harpsichord concertos were influenced by his earlier transcriptions of Italian concertos by composers like Vivaldi, Corelli, and Marcello, which he undertook while working in Weimar.

Historical Context

Bach likely intended these harpsichord concertos for performances by the Collegium Musicum, a bourgeois music society in Leipzig founded by Telemann, which held regular concerts in Gottfried Zimmermann's coffee-house.