Elaine Pranadjaya Grade 11 5th April 2017

Semester 2 Music Week 10

Referring to the score, analyse and describe the form of the third
movement of Bachs Brandenburg Concerto No2. In F
In Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 Movement III, Bach uses the form of a
fugue, which is a contrapuntal composition where a short melody or phrase (the
subject) is introduced by one part and is then developed by interweaving the
parts.
The exposition begins in bar 1 with the subject in F major played by the
trumpet. The rhythm of the subject gets more steady and monotonous. All of the
other instruments in the concertino and the ripieno are silent throughout the
entire subject except for the basso continuo which plays a rhythm similar to the
subject. In bar 7, a real answer, which means that it has exactly the same
intervals as the subject, is introduced a fifth above the tonic in the key of C major
played by the oboe. A countersubject is played by the trumpet at the same time
as the answer in bar 7. The countersubject is distinct from the subject as it has a
different rhythm.
An episode occurs in bars 13-20 where the subject is not played. The
subject is then introduced again in the tonic (F) by the violin in bar 21 while the
oboe is playing the countersubject. The real answer is then played by the
recorder in bar 27 in the key of C while the countersubject is played by the violin.
There is another episode in bars 33 to 40 where there are question and
answer phrases played between the recorder and the violin. The reorder, oboe
and violin are all playing rising sequences. Bach uses the B natural in this
episode to modulate to C major.
In bar 41, the subject is played by the trumpet and the countersubject is
played at the same time by the recorder, but this time it is in the key of C major.
There is then another episode in bars 47-65. The ripieno enters for the first
time in bar 47 but it has a minimal role. All of the parts in bars 48-52 are playing
descending sequences. A C# is introduced in bar 64 to modulate to D minor.
In bar 66, the subject is played by the oboe in D minor while the recorder
is playing the countersubject. In bar 72, the basso continuo plays the answer in A
major, which is the dominant of D minor. A countersubject isnt being played but
the trumpet is playing an A pedal note and the violin is playing a string crossing
pattern that also provides a dominant pedal note.
Another episode occurs starting from bar 78. There is a similar sequence
material that was previously seen in bars 48-52. In bar 87, Bach explores the
circle of fifths while using imitations. The oboe plays a motif in D minor, followed
by the recorder playing the motif in G minor, and then the violin in C major, and
finally the trumpet playing the motif in F major.
The final entry starts in bar 108 with the subject being played by the oboe
in Bb major, which is the subdominant of F major. The answer is played by the
recorder in bar 113 in F major which is the dominant of Bb major. In bar 119, the
basso continuo and the violone di ripieno simultaneously play the answer in C
major which is the dominant of F major. In bar 136, the final subject is played in F
major, the home key, by the trumpet. The violin 1 from the ripieno, the basso
continuo and the violone di ripieno are all playing a tonic pedal to further
emphasize that this is now back in the key of F major. Secondary dominants were
used to get from Bb to the tonic of F major.