Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G Major BWV 1049, complete; Voices of Music 4K UHD

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• published: 19 Dec 2014
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Hey everyone~! Please consider a donation, http://www.voicesofmusic.org/donate.html and we will make more videos like this one :) We need your help! The world premiere of J. S. Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, performed on original instruments. Carla Moore, baroque violin solo; Hanneke van Proosdij & Andrew Levy, recorders & echo flutes. Performance and 4K UHD Video by the Early Music ensemble Voices of Music. In March of 1721, Johann Sebastian Bach carefully inked six of his best concertos into a book for the Margrave of Brandenburg, Christian Ludwig. The original title, "Six Concerts à plusieurs instruments" is now known as the "Brandenburg" Concertos in English or "Brandenburgische Konzerte" in German. These six concertos represent the summa of chamber music in the high baroque period: for the fourth concerto (BWV 1049), Bach chose the unique and imaginative texture of baroque violin and “echo flutes” (a type of baroque recorder) for his soloists. In his autograph manuscript of Brandenburg 4 (BWV 1049), Bach writes the title as follows: "Concerto 4to à Violino Principale, due Fiauti d'Echo, due Violini, una Viola è Violone in Ripieno, Violoncello è Continuo." For our video, we use the “echo flutes” for the slow movement, then break them apart for the first and third movements. The outside movements feature exceptionally virtuosic writing for the violin, with extended passagework spanning the entire range of the instrument. For his fourth concerto in the set of Brandenburgs, Bach is especially careful with the orchestration: this creates space for the recorder sound to breathe; in addition, his compositional style flows with sparkle and wit. The fourth Brandenburg concerto is unusual in that Bach specifically calls for "echo flutes", or "fiauti d'echo". For many years musicologists have debated what an "echo flute" exactly is, and have also uncovered a great deal of historical detail, but the work is usually performed with two alto recorders. YouTube now has a limit on the length of the description text; more information about the echo flutes and this recording here: http://voicesofmusic.org/BB4Notes.pdf Voices of Music Hanneke van Proosdij & David Tayler, directors A note on this video: The Brandenburg Concertos are ensemble pieces, and every musician has a finely-wrought musical line. Rather than assemble clips of small solos, the goal in presenting this work was to show the entire ensemble--in this way, the viewer can follow the counter-subjects as well as the main themes in the musical composition. A specially designed hyperfocal lens was used for the center camera to render the entire soundstage in focus, edge to edge and front to back, so that at resolutions of 1080p and higher, one can view each individual musician. Graduated depth of field was used on the supporting cameras to throw the image into relief when showing sections of instruments. Surround sound techniques were used to place the listener in the middle of the ensemble, so that each part can be clearly heard, as well as seen. Text: For this recording, a new edition of the concerto was made based on Bach's autograph manuscript, with careful attention to the original articulation marks. Original instruments: the Brandenburg concertos have been performed on every imaginable combination of instruments. We believe that the greatest transparency is achieved when the work is performed on instruments from the time of Bach, using the techniques and styles of the time. In Bach's time, music was performed without a conductor, and each musician had a voice in the interpretation. The musicians and their instruments Carla Moore, solo baroque violin by Johann Georg Thir, Vienna, 1754 Hanneke van Proosdij and Andrew Levy, recorders. Recorder by Peter van der Poel, based on instruments by Thomas Stanesby Jr, London Echo flutes by Peter van der Poel and Von Huene workshop; design & research by Hanneke van Proosdij, David Tayler and Thomas Winter Kati Kyme, baroque violin by Johann Gottlob Pfretzschner, Mittenwald, 1791 Gabrielle Wunsch, baroque violin by Lorenzo Carcassi, Florence, Italy, 1765 Lisa Grodin, baroque viola by Mathias Eberl, Salzburg, Austria, 1680 William Skeen, five string baroque cello, Anonymous, Italy, c1680 Farley Pearce, violone, George Stoppani, Manchester, 1985, after Amati, 1560 Katherine Heater, double manual harpsichord by Johannes Klinkhamer, Amsterdam (1996), after Ruckers-Goujon, Neuchâtel, Switzerland, 18th c. Recorded at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Belvedere, California