J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G major, BWV 1049 [2020 Revisit] (Synthesized)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2020
- For information on the visualization, please read the 1st pinned comment.
Few musical works are as loved and as oft-performed, as the 6 "Brandenburg" Concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach. These works (BWV 1046-1051) display a lighter side of Bach's imperishable genius. Yet they came into being as an unexpected gift. That's what happened in 1721 when Bach presented the Margrave of Brandenburg with a bound manuscript containing 6 lively concertos for chamber orchestra, works based on an Italian Concerto Grosso style. The Margrave never thanked Bach for his work - or paid him! There's no way he could have known that this unnamed gift (named the “Brandenburg Concertos” 150 years later by Bach's biographer) would become a benchmark of Baroque music and still have the power to move people almost three centuries later.
Though he didn't call them the "Brandenburgs," originally, Bach thought of them as a set. What he did was compile them from short instrumental sinfonias and concerto movements he had already written. He then reworked the old music, often rewriting and elaborating where he saw fit. In doing so, Bach created something of a dramatic arc from the brilliant 1st concerto to the last, which evokes a spirited chase. Bach even later reworked components of the scores into other compositions: the 1st movement of Concerto No. 1 can also be found as the Sinfonia to Cantata 52 and its 3rd movement was used as the opening Chorus of Cantata 207. The Sinfonia to Cantata 174 is a reworking of the 1st movement of the 3rd Brandenburg with the addition of 3 oboes and 2 horns. The 4th Brandenburg was used as the Concerto for Harpsichord, 2 Recorders and Strings in F major, BWV 1057.
The 4th Brandenburg, scored for a virtuoso violin, 2 flutes, strings, and continuo, opens as a lively Allegro with an extensive ritornello (a reinventing passage) which not only introduces the basic material is also states the instrumental argument: a solo group (Concertino) is contrasted with the rest of the orchestra (Ripieno) and within this solo group there is a dialog between the 2 recorders and the violin. This ritornello functions as a component of the work as a whole, containing its own contrasts, departures and returns; only at the end do we hear it again complete. Intermediate returns of portions of the ritornello give the movement a sense of architecture, something to provide pillars between the episodes. Yet, instead of simply confining the solos to the episodes, Bach dislocates their argument from the ritornello structure: we can’t predict when the soloists will be strongly profiled; they are continually weaving in and out of the larger orchestral texture in which the contrast is highlighted by dynamics rather than material.
The Andante is set in the relative minor key of E minor, and is Sarabande-like -
moderately slow tempo, triple meter, with a tendency to accent the 2nd beat of the measure. In this piece, the Ripieno continues to play a secondary role, almost never performing melodic material on its own. Meanwhile, the flutes take the lead over the solo violin, with the 1st flute playing the most elaborate passages in this movement. The piece remains in the minor mode throughout, never hinting towards the relative major key of G heard in the outer movements. The effect can be seen as more solemn than sombre.
With the final Presto (Bach's fastest tempo in any of the Brandenburgs) we hear yet another interpretation of the concerto style: the opening is essentially a fugue built from the bottom up - viola, second violin, first violin (along with solo violin, and finally the flutes on top), etc. The solo violin proceeds to create some striking effects with minimum accompaniment, and some of the movement's most dramatic moments come when the orchestra drops out entirely, leaving the solo instruments alone in the spotlight. Thus the expected contrast of ritornello and episode is replaced by frequent contrasts of instrumentation, the fuller expositions of the subject providing the tutti sonority usually associated with the ritornello. Furthermore another traditional feature of the concerto - virtuosity - is provided by the violin part, something which by its very nature turns a fugue - brilliant enough on its own terms - into a dazzling concerto movement.
In homage to Wendy Carlos' original realization on her "Well-Tempered Synthesizer" of 1969, I scored my version with basic instruments reminiscent of her style. In this 2020 revisit, I dusted off my original presets and pared them back for simpler, cleaner timbres. I also created some alternates to layer in for emphasis over various passages. The work has been newly mixed and mastered with better clarity and crispness than previously unachieved. This update includes the central Andante that I'd not done when the work was originally posted. One point to note is the adjustment of individual timbres (reshaped for each movement and specific passages) to suit the tempos. - เพลง
![J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major, BWV 1047 [2020 Revisit] (Synthesized)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/MCQmknIrE-g/mqdefault.jpg)
For those wanting to follow along, the MAMM (Music Animation Machine Midi) visualization displays the following instruments:
Piccolo Violin - Orange
Recorder I - Yellow
Recorder II - Lime Green
Violin I - Cyan (Light-Green when combined with Piccolo Violin in Presto)
Violin II - Blue
Viola - Purple-Blue
Harpsichord - Pink
Cello - Rose-Pink (2nd line from bottom, mostly combined with the Harpsichord)
Double Bass - Hot-Pink (Bottom line, often combined with the Harpsichord. Absent in Andante)
50 years ago... as a dissolute young man... I would take LSD and listen to music....
Now we get the visual representaion without the drug.
5:39 what I like about synth version is that I get to hear these dissonances raw
Your tempos on all these Brandenburgs are just perfect.
Thanks so much. Glad you’re enjoying them.
Imagine being so good at counterpoint that you inspire Mozart
Perfect little audiovideo experience thanks
Thank you for taking the time to comment. I hope you enjoy other such posts on my channel. :)
This mix is definitely nicer than version 1, and the textures/timbres are very nice
Thanks again. I really wanted to revisit the work to brighten things up with a fresher sound than my original. I appreciate that you noticed! :) LOL I wish people would share this one to their playlists - the old versions are still in the top 10 of all my posts.
Outstanding.
I feel such animations very didactic, specially if using polyphonic works in imitative style.
Sounds amazing!
LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!
thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU!
Brilliant!
Nice! So there's yet hope that someday I'll get to hear the 3rd in this style. :)
Micah Joel have been working on it for a few years actually but because the timbres change up so frequently, it’s a lot to consider. I don’t duplicate Carlos’ work but try to at least emulate some characteristics of her sounds. I’m struggling with the opening Allegro but have completed the Adagio and am almost done with the closing Allegro. I might just get it posted sooner than later.
Thanks for listening and taking the time to comment. It means a lot.
@@CareyRMeltz Hearing the Carlos version for the first time was the instant I fell in love with Bach's music. I'd delight to hear your take on it. (Especially an improvised 2nd movement) :-)
@@micahjoel7507 The same for me - I was in grade 7 at the time. As far as BB#3 - it's a tricky thing to do... you wrote "[my] take" but no matter what I do - It will always be compared to Carlos' original, of which I could never duplicate.
I have used the Largo from one of Bach's Violin Concertos as the "Adagio," with my own additional arranging. It concludes with the Phrygian Cadence and has been used to join the outer Allegros. It really does sound quite "Wendy," to be honest.
I have many timbres developed which totally suit the 1st & 3rd movements, however it's creating the dynamics and all the layering (that is so present in the original work) that I fear I'll be highly criticized for. I do this as a hobby and share on YT for others who might be interested... but I don't cope well with the negativity, or rather, the way the world now chooses to express is. I don't mind constructive criticism or thumbs downs, and thankfully, there are very few truly nasty comments worth deleting. So I've been torn over the last 6 years on whether or not it's worth bringing to life in a world that doesn't have much humanity left in it.
I do thank you for your contribution to the conversation. Some whine just because my presentations have an intro and they don't even bother commenting on the music.
Bravo !!!!
Nice work. The upper part of the visualisation looks like a landscape
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it.
Maravilloso
What a great start to my day Carey ! Thank you for re-visiting this, and posting it here (- lovely use of reverb too )
Thank you Simon, I appreciate your support of my work. It was important to get that reverb just right as an additional nuance to the voicing I created; just adds to the dynamics of everything.
@@CareyRMeltz Is it an algorithmic or convolution reverb? It's an interesting idea that the synthetic sounds need space and air for them to be more acceptable for our ears
@@makeperceive To be honest, I believe (though not 100% sure) that it's a algorithmic vst plug-in that I use. I agree, sometimes that reverb helps in bringing synthetic instruments to life. I also use other tricks such as very short digital delay to create reverb-like "bounces" in the opposing channels to enhance the effect and/or broaden the stereo field.
It would be interesting to hear this with a little subtle tempo variation throughout, right now it's very regular and I suppose that could be an aesthetic choice for the synths
Thanks for listening and leaving a comment. Actually, there are numerous micro tempo adjustments throughout. Perhaps it was all too subtle to be recognized... then too, there's always the other aesthetic that Baroque music shouldn't utilize tempo variations.
What platform is used? Sounds amazing.
Súbelo a Spotify!!!
C'est du très bon travail sinon je ne me serais point abonné
Piste par piste forcément
Au niveau du son pardonne- moi
Mais personnellement étant évidemment fan de WENDY CARLOS
J'aurai débaroqué un chouilla je sais c'est tentant afin d'aciduler un peu plus CAD plus de personnalité au niveau son la référence 9e Symphony de beethoven par WALTER C en particulier les 2 SCHERZOS
LE SON semble swinguer groover et même se rapprocher d'un orchestre juste histoire de dire que JS BACH fut un précurseur du romantisme bien sûr l'époque est au baroque flûte clavecin etc mais pour le bonheur de la création rien n'empêche de déroger un temps soit peu comme l'ont plus ou moins tous fait les grands compositeurs jusqu'à ce jour
En tout cas bibi et super travail
AMITIÉS JEAN-ROBERT DRAY AUTEUR COMPOSITEUR sur TH-cam
Merci bien pour votre commentaire.
@@CareyRMeltz NORMAL TAS FAIT UN BOULOT DE TITAN JE M'EN RENDS COMPTE J' essaie qelques variations façon Wendy BEETHOV. Pas de la tarte et je suis loin de la perfection
I was initially stuck by the extraordinary visuals and assumed it was Wendy Carlos. I bought Switched on Bach around 1971 and it changed my musical life - baroque music and synthesisers. (Which lead to Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk and ultimately Trance and EDM!) But it was very quickly obvious this was a new interpretation and it is really wonderful and beautiful.
Thank you so much for uploading and for your very knowledgeable piece on the history of the concertos. I believe Walter / Wendy used specific micro tunings and her original Modular 55? was hard to keep in tune - classic analog synths, just love em. How did you approach this project and what instruments did you use? I’m very proud to own one of the last 500 Voyagers made, (Electric Blue) Apologies if you explained this before, just found your channel and subscribed.
Me too!
@10:52
@@reptilrrudy2389 The famed Wendy Carlos made a version on the moog for her 1970 album "the well tempered synthesizer". I don't think its anywhere but the vinyl.
@@sethmerrell8888 Wendy Carlos recorded all six Brandenburgs; they were part of a multiple box set (on CD). Don't know if they are still available.