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Revenge of the violas

In this sixth concerto, Bach turns things upside down

In the music world, the viola and viola players are a favourite butt of many a joke. This is not a new phenomenon. Although the German flautist and composer Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773) explains in his Versuch einer Anweisung die Flöte traversiere zu spielen why viola players do indeed need specific skills and knowledge, he too starts with a summary of the generally held opinion of viola players: “The viola is generally seen as unimportant in the music world. The reason is probably that the instrument is often played by people who are either beginners in music or do not have the talent to distinguish themselves on the violin, or also because this instrument does not have so many advantages: a reason why skilled musicians prefer not to get involved with it”.

Both Bach himself and Shunske Sato, violinist and artistic director of the Netherlands Bach Society and playing here on the viola, refute the age-old prejudice. Bach himself was an excellent performer on both violin and viola. According to his son, Carl Philipp Emanuel, his great knowledge of how harmony works meant he even preferred to play the middle parts – and thus the viola. Maybe this is why he turns things upside down in the last (sixth) ‘Brandenburg’ concerto. Violins – usually the golden boys of the orchestra – are conspicuous by their absence! Instead, two violas play the leading role. As the highest parts, they ‘play first fiddle’ as soloists. supported by two viola da gambas, a cello, double bass and harpsichord.

This combination was a reflection of the situation at the court in Köthen. Bach’s noble employer himself played viola da gamba, which in the Baroque was often used as a ‘royal’ solo instrument. So the subversive nature of this concerto lies not only in the absence of the violins, but also in the fact that Bach gives himself a soloist role on an ‘inferior’ instrument and furthermore places the duke in the ‘accompanying ensemble’, as gamba player Mieneke van der Velden calls it. Step aside: the violas take their revenge.