Concerto piccolo über B-A-C-H for solo trumpet, string orchestra, harpsichord and piano was composed at the joint initiative of the trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger and Neeme Järvi and on the commission by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, to whom the piece is dedicated. The commissioning musicians also premiered the work on 23 October 1994 at the Musikverein Concert Hall, Vienna.
Concerto piccolo über B-A-C-H is based on Pärt’s Collage über B-A-C-H, composed 30 years earlier in 1964 – also a three-movement composition for string instruments, oboe, harpsichord and piano. As the title of the original work indicates, the piece uses collage technique, which was prevalent in Pärt’s work in 1960s. These “collages” were the first indication of the composer…
Concerto piccolo über B-A-C-H for solo trumpet, string orchestra, harpsichord and piano was composed at the joint initiative of the trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger and Neeme Järvi and on the commission by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, to whom the piece is dedicated. The commissioning musicians also premiered the work on 23 October 1994 at the Musikverein Concert Hall, Vienna.
Concerto piccolo über B-A-C-H is based on Pärt’s Collage über B-A-C-H, composed 30 years earlier in 1964 – also a three-movement composition for string instruments, oboe, harpsichord and piano. As the title of the original work indicates, the piece uses collage technique, which was prevalent in Pärt’s work in 1960s. These “collages” were the first indication of the composer's inner restlessness and growing crisis. They express his dissatisfaction with his earlier compositional techniques and gives an idea of what he longed for in music.
Concerto piccolo über B-A-C-H doesn’t use the names of Baroque forms as seen in its original score from 1964 (Toccata, Sarabande and Ricercare). Instead, Pärt chooses Italian terms (Preciso, Lento, Deciso). However, the music follows the score of the original composition and has maintained the nature of Baroque forms. The music of the first and third movements has been complemented with a trumpet solo, that also substitudes the original oboe solo in the second movement.
The entire composition is based on a 10-note row that begins with the notes B-A-C-H. In each movement, this row is given a different musical solution, combining the different movements of the work into a single whole. In the first movement, the note row has been arranged vertically to structure the selection of keys: B major, A minor, C minor and B minor. The second movement is based on the Sarabande from Bach’s English Suite in D Minor, clearly categorising the work as a “traditional” collage. Bach’s Sarabande is divided into phrases and interwoven with passages of Pärt’s own music that follow the rhythm and pace of Sarabande, but now harmonised with 10-note clusters. The beautiful and delicate music is contrasted with restless passages filled with inner tension. Additionally, the instrumentation contributes to the contrast in terms of timbre: the sections of Bach’s Sarabande feature a harpsichord characteristic of Baroque music, while the clusters of string instruments are given even more density and strength by a contemporary piano. In the third movement, the 10-note row sounds as a melodic theme.
