Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major, BWV 1048

Main page for Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos

• Bach composed this concerto by 1721, when it was included in the set of Six Concerts avec plusieurs Instruments which he sent to the Margrave of Brandenburg.
• This concerto is scored for an unusual combination of instruments: three violins, three violas, three cellos, and continuo.¹ Throughout the concerto, Bach takes advantage of the many combinations available between these nine string soloists.²
• Structure: this concerto contains three movements, but the middle movement is only two chords long. Many interpreters think Bach intended this as a moment for the harpsichordist, or one of the soloists, to improvise a cadenza, and the concerto is often performed in this manner.³

1. Christoph Wolff and Walter Emery, “Bach, Johann Sebastian,” Grove Music Online (2001), Accessed January 6, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-6002278195. 
2. “About the Composer: Bach Brandenburg Concertos,” Santa Fe Pro Musica (2013), accessed January 6, 2021, https://sfpromusica.org/about-the-composer/bachs-brandenburg-concertos/.
3. Ibid.