CSMF 2019 present Florilegium: The Complete Brandenburg Concertos

Ashley Solomon director

Bojan Cicic leader

 

JS Bach The Brandenburg Concertos

 

The Brandenburg concertos are among Bach’s most familiar and well-loved instrumental works, recognised as supreme examples of their type. Bach called the works ‘Six Concertos with several Instruments’. They were not intended to be performed as a set, and Florilegium has chosen to perform them in reverse numerical order, each piece adding to the complement of musicians – ending with the triumphant first concerto combining wind, strings and brass. Together they form a kind of master anthology, each concerto calling for a different combination of soloists and demonstrating all the imaginable possibilities inherent in the form.

 

They demand and celebrate the performers’ virtuosity, without intending to dazzle theorists or challenge intellectuals. In the hands of Florilegium, acknowledged as one of Britain’s most outstanding period instrument ensembles, the evening promises to fizz with sheer enjoyment by musicians and audience alike.