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 style, these "six concerts for several instruments" are of rare virtuosity, obviously featuring strings but also various soloists such as the harpsichord or trumpet, in a blend of styles where the Italian concerto dominates, yet with an extraordinary mastery of German contrapuntal interweavings and magnificent French influences.

But the masterpiece lies there, a fantastic demonstration of Bach's genius creating a new type of concerto, which is not truly Italian and not truly in the French style, but rather an original form, structuring with abundant writing, melodies of obvious beauty.

The concertos follow one another without resembling each other, all different in their ensemble and solo instruments, united by Bach's inventive ardour.

The result: an exceptional corpus, ranging from the old-style viol consort to the orchestral form of twenty musicians including two horns and three oboes.

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