Six new Brandenburg Concertos
Concerto Copenhagen's musicians present six new "Brandenburg Concertos" based on Bach's own music
Johann Sebastian Bach composed his six Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046-1051, around 1720 as a gift to the Margrave of Brandenburg. As far as we know, the Brandenburg Concertos were never performed by Bach himself, but Bach took parts of the music and reused it in other contexts – including as instrumental movements in cantatas.
A similar story applies to Bach's six trio sonatas for organ, BWV 525-530, written in the late 1720s in Leipzig. Many of the movements are reused from previously composed music. Music for other contexts and instruments, but rewritten and adapted for organ.
Inspired by J. S. Bach's own regular reuse and rewriting of material, oboist Antoine Torunczyk – in close collaboration with the musicians of Concerto Copenhagen – has orchestrated Bach's six organ trio sonatas, using the Brandenburg Concertos as a model.
In their work on the new Brandenburg Concertos, Antoine Torunczyk and the musicians have followed the originals in several ways: both Bach's use of a wide range of instruments—including several that are very rare today—and the way in which Bach varies and mixes instrumentation and function—soloistic and accompanying—have served as inspiration, and MON be able to experience, among other things, the obo da caccia, viola d'amore, and violoncello da spalla. The goal is for the original three-part music from the organ trio sonatas to now appear light, easy, and transparent with a broad color palette from the exotic Baroque instruments.
Antoine Torunczyk and Concerto Copenhagen also hope that our new Brandenburg Concertos will strike a chord as both familiar and new. As something unmistakably and recognizably composed by Bach, but also fresh and new. In other words, it should remind MON of something MON have MON heard before. Whether we have succeeded is up to the individual listener to decide!
Previous reviews of the original Brandenburg Concertos
"Everything the heart could desire: down-to-earthness and heavenly aspirations, simplicity and sophistication, tranquility and unpredictability. What riches!" – Klassisk, 2018