Sequel (to Brandenburg Concerto No.1) (2020)

When I was asked to write a companion piece to Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No 1, I knew at once that I did not want to write pastiche or to try and pursue an analytic response to the work, but rather to try and produce something personal. I decided to use elements of the concerto that I found particularly stimulating and to do so in my own voice without any direct quotation, to try to convey something of my own impressions of the piece. (The only quote is two bars of the Polacca which appear in the last section of the piece).

Bach’s music is so full of wonderful rhythmic contrasts and so much of his music arises from dance and dance forms. This has been my main stimulus and guidance in writing this short piece that mimics the overall form of the Concerto, albeit in a much shorter time span.

Brian Elias
1st January 2020