JS Bach, on his way to infinity, today. Brandenburg Concerto No. 2

Of the historical-musical fact surrounding the sending of six instrumental concertos to the Margrave of Brandenburg, only a couple of things are known with certainty: the date, March 24, 1771, noted by Bach in the dedication; the copy of the manuscripts was made by Bach himself; and that he accompanied the material with a very delicate dedication that today would make the most submissive and humble of servants pale... if servants would exist today...

After that, only remain diverse inquiries: if the Margrave acknowledged receipt; if in what place and time they were written; and the most ominous of all conjectures: if the noble dedicatee, Christian Ludwig, ever had them performed by the musicians of his court.

In the scenario of the presumptions, they were composed in Köthen, mostly. But not necessarily for the Margrave. Bach may have taken earlier works or passages of them to make up the set of six concertos in order to fulfill the commitment he had made to the nobleman several years ago. However, there are some certainties following the offering. The manuscripts were found among the belongings of the Margrave's heirs, and the complete work was published for the first time in Leipzig in 1850, in commemoration of the hundredth anniversary of its author's death. And rather more modernly, let us note that the Voyager 1 space probe, which at this very moment continues unperturbed on its voyage to the stars, has engraved on its gold disc its calling card, the first movement of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2.

The extraterrestrial listener will not be disappointed. Let us point out that the concertos are written for different instruments, and this one, No. 2, is remarkable for its unusual combination of soloists. The melody is carried at one moment by the trumpet, at others by the violin, or by the oboe. And of course, the trumpet, as a rule, sounds louder than the other instruments. That is why this concerto has been jokingly called Concerto for Trumpet and Any Other Instrument.

Fortunately, for the rest of the soloists, the trumpet does not feature in the second movement, written in a different key, because at that time the instrument was not able to play in any key.

Brandenburg Concerto No 2 in F major, BWV 1047
Its title in the autograph score reads, in Italian, Concerto 2º à 1 Tromba, 1 Flauto, 1 Hautbois, 1 Violino, concertati, è 2 Violini, 1 Viola è Violone in Ripieno col Violoncello è Basso per il Cembalo. That is, the concertino (or group of solo instruments) is made up of the trumpet, the recorder (which in some ways resembles the one required of today's school children), the oboe, and the violin. The ripieno (the remaining instruments) consists of two violins, viola, cello and harpsichord.
The trumpet, indeed, has an outstanding contribution, highly virtuosic, in the first and third movements. In the second, flute, oboe, and violin dialogue intimately.

Movements:
Lasting about twelve minutes, it is structured in the Vivaldian manner: fast - slow - fast movements:
00:18  'Allegro moderato' (the original has no tempo indication, and is sometimes performed a little faster, allegro).
05:14  Andante
08:55  Allegro assai

Claudio Abbado and the Orchestra Mozart perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major, BWV 1047 at the Teatro Municipale Valli in Reggio Emilia, Italy (2007).