Berliner symphonien

Abstract

The opening Prestissimo of this "Berlin" symphony is prime C.P.E. Bach: thematic material derived from arpeggios shooting up the scale and then plunging down two octaves, with the agitation of the short note values rather than conventional melody providing fodder for the movement. Slightly less intense episodes count more as variations in figuration than new themes. It's a measure of Bach's skill that he can create a compelling piece of music from little more than gestures and mood shifts.

More traditionally expressive is the Larghetto, whose stately if hesitant theme seems derived from an episode of the first movement. The point here is less development or full variation of the melody than subjecting phrases to sudden changes of "affect." The texture is particularly dense; the composer allots the musical material almost equally among the string sections (although the oboes and horns sit this one out). The Presto takes off from a hunting-horn or posthorn figure played primarily by the strings, despite the availability of horns in the ensemble; Bach's intention is not strictly imitative. The entire three-minute duration of this movement is devoted to fanciful manipulations of the hunting figure, or more precisely using its rhythm as the basis of each little musical event.