Johann Sebastian Bach, Brandenburg Concertos

"The autograph score of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos is dated 24 March 1721. In an elegant French dedication Bach explains that the collection of six concertos was the result of a commission from Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg, whom he had met two years earlier - probably while in Berlin to collect a new Mietke harpsichord for his employer Prince Leopold of Cöthen. Musicologists and performers have always found it impossible to explain the wayward variety of the Brandenburg Concertos, often concluding (in desperation) that the diversity of the pieces must be the very quality which binds them together. The fact that Bach presented the Margrave with a score rather than parts is in itself significant, and the works were in any case unsuitable for the Margrave's small musical establishment. There is no evidence that the Margrave either thanked Bach or paid him a fee for the commission." (http://www.recorderhomepage.net/brandenburgs.html)

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