Skip to main content

Primary sourceBook1721

Brandenburg Concertos

Johann Sebastian Bach · 1721

A set of six instrumental concertos by Bach, dedicated to the Margrave of Brandenburg in 1721, showing his mastery of the Italian concerto style.

Bach composed and personally dedicated this set of concertos, showing his craftsmanship and relationship to patrons.

Ask Johann Sebastian Bach about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Handwritten title page in French reading 'Six Concerts Avec plusieurs Instruments, Dediés à Son Altesse Royalle Monseigneur Christian Louis, Marggraf de Brandenbourg', with a dedication signed by Jean Sebastien Bach, Maître de Chapelle, and a library stamp.
Johann Sebastian Bach, title page of the Brandenburg Concertos, dedicated to the Margrave of Brandenburg, 1721.

About this source

What it is

The Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046–1051, are six instrumental works compiled by Johann Sebastian Bach and presented with a dedication to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, in 1721. Bach wrote most of the collection in his own hand, titling it 'Six Concertos for several instruments.'

Why it matters

The concertos are celebrated for their daring combinations of instruments, each one scored differently. They reveal Bach absorbing and transforming the Italian concerto style while working for Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen. The manuscript's survival, including through the dangers of World War II, makes it a rare direct link to Bach's working methods.

Look closer

  • What does Bach's dedication letter suggest about his relationship to patrons and nobility?
  • Why might Bach have chosen such unusual combinations of instruments for each concerto?
  • What happened to the manuscript after Bach's time, and what does that journey tell us about preserving history?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Johann Sebastian Bach on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Johann Sebastian Bach sources

Meet the AI Johann Sebastian Bach →
Handwritten manuscript page of musical notation on aged, yellowed paper, with multiple staves of notes, slurs, and ornaments in ink, and handwritten inscription text along the bottom edge.Book

Primary source

St Matthew Passion

Johann Sebastian Bach · 1727

Handwritten manuscript page of orchestral and choral score in brown ink on aged paper, with the heading 'Symbolum Nicenum' at top. Multiple staves for voices and instruments, with Latin text 'Credo in unum Deum' written under the notes.Book

Primary source

Mass in B minor

Johann Sebastian Bach · completed 1749

Black and white scan of the handwritten title page of Bach's Das Wohltemperirte Clavier, with ornate flourishes at top, a large decorative initial, lines of German script, Bach's name, the date 1722 and a library stamp at bottom.Book

Primary source

The Well-Tempered Clavier

Johann Sebastian Bach · 1722 (Book 1); 1742 (Book 2)

Oil portrait of a man in a white powdered wig and dark coat with gold buttons, white cravat and cuffs. He holds a sheet of handwritten music with the inscription 'Canon triplex a 6 voci' and the signature 'J. S. Bach'.Painting

Primary source

Portrait of Bach

Elias Gottlob Haussmann · 1746

Page 158 of Mizler's Musikalische Bibliothek, 1754, in Fraktur black-letter type. Header reads 'VI. Denkmal dreyer verst. Mitglieder'. Section 'C.' begins with a heading about Johann Sebastian Bach, followed by a body of German text.Newspaper article

Secondary source

Bach's Nekrolog

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Johann Friedrich Agricola · 1754

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Johann Sebastian Bach now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions