These two most beloved of Bach’s concertos exuberantly celebrate ensemble playing, a joy keenly felt by the musicians of Pacific Baroque Orchestra during this year of isolation.
Each concerto features not a single soloist but rather a trio – flute, violin and harpsichord in Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 and two violins accompanied by bass instruments in the Double Violin Concerto. The rest of the ensemble supports the soloists and comments on their playing often in a song-like alternation of catchy tutti refrain and fanciful solo verse.
Brandenburg Concerto No. 5
BWV 1050: Allegro, Affetuoso, Allegro
Double Violin Concerto, BWV 1043
Vivace, Largo ma non tanto, Allegro
Choral Prelude, BWV 639
“Ich ruf’ zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ”
- Pacific Baroque Orchestra