Brandenburg Concerto No. 1: Menuet

The three instrument families in this big baroque orchestra leads us to speculate that Bach represented three social classes: the royal elite (elegant strings, one leader), the aristocratic nobles (horns, for upper-class hunting expeditions), and the common people (reeds, as for outdoor bands or shepherding). Bach concludes the concerto with the elegant and grand menuet (note his spelling; not "minuet"). The French dance exudes class and status, though in this case, the hunters and even the common townsfolk are invited to participate in the great dance of strings, reeds, and horns. 

In this episode we discuss the repeating refrain section, called the "menuet" section. There are three other parts of the complete structure to be discussed in our next two episodes. 

Audio note: at 20:55-21:15, we recommend stereo listening, so that you can hear the two pitches/beats separated to the left (bottom pitch; slower beating) and right (higher pitch by perfect fifth interval; faster beating). The respective ratio is 2:3. As it gets slower, listen for two clicks on the left for every three on the right.

Menuet of Brandenburg Concerto No. 1