Berlin Baroque Soloists / Reinhard Goebel

Unity in diversity

Four of the six Brandenburg Concertos in one evening – what would Johann Sebastian Bach have thought of that? These works were not originally meant to be performed together – quite the opposite. Bach composed the concertos independently of each other, both artistically and temporally, and each one puts a different solo instrument popular at the time in the limelight. It wasn’t until Bach was presented with the prospect of being appointed Kapellmeister at the Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt’s court that he collected the six concertos and added the dedication that later became a famous epithet. With the Berlin Baroque Soloists and their artistic director Reinhard Goebel now performing a substantial selection from the cycle, Bach would surely be delighted to hear how perfectly his concertos fit together.