Bach : Les Concertos Brandebourgeois

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Les Concertos brandebourgeois Saturday 19 June, 7pm Opéra Royal Duration: 2h20 including interval

In 1721 Bach dedicated a cycle of six concertos to the Margrave of Brandenburg, great-uncle of the King of Prussia. A true "art of the concerto" in Bach's manner, these "six concerts with several instruments" are of rare virtuosity, calling of course on the strings but also on various soloists such as the harpsichord or the trumpet, in a blend of styles where the Italian concerto predominates, yet with an extraordinary mastery of German contrapuntal interweaving, and magnificent French influences.

But the masterpiece is there: a dazzling demonstration of Bach's genius in creating a new type of concerto, which is not really Italian and not really in the French style, but an original form, structured through an exuberant writing and melodies of evident beauty. The concertos follow one another without resembling each other, each different in its line-up and its solo instruments, united by Bach's inventive ardour. The result is an exceptional body of work, ranging from the concert for viols in the old style to the orchestral form of twenty musicians including two horns and three oboes.

This work was destined to enjoy a posterity worthy of the gems it contains: today it is the foundation of chamber and orchestral music, especially in Germany, where it is the Bible of instrumentalists.