Bach - Vereinigte Zwietracht der wechselnden Saiten [BWV 207] – New College, Oxford

I played first trumpet with Oxford Bach Soloists for their performance of Bach’s cantata Vereinigte Zwietracht der wechselnden Saiten [BWV 207] at New College, Oxford, on Sunday 23rd January 2022. BWV 207 was the final piece in the concert, which also included Bach’s first Brandenburg Concerto [BWV 1046] and the cantata Falsche Welt, dir trau ich nicht! [BWV 52]. Each cantata featured recognisable thematic elements from the first Brandenburg Concerto. 

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BWV 207 featured a Ritornello [5a], very similar to the one in the first Brandenburg, which appears to be a simple AABB piece. It is written for just two trumpets (reflecting the fact that Brandenburg 1 is written for two horns) but I imagine that any trumpeter in the eighteenth century might have been tempted to enlist the help of the third trumpeter (who plays in the outer movements), as it is very tiring for just two players, playing on trumpets in D. Having had covid-19 in December and laryngitis thereafter, I was very glad of the help on this occasion. I wrote an arrangement of this piece, so that both the first and second trumpet player would get some help from the the third player, who would act as a bumper. The arrangement worked very well, and we did not take up any additional rehearsal time  – which is always at a premium – organising the bumping, as I had written it out for three players. 

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Tom Hammond-Davies directed the Oxford Bach Soloists and the solo singers were Lucy Cronin (soprano), Jess Dandy (alto), Nick Pritchard (tenor) and Peter Harvey (bass).

Russell Gilmour
Russell Gilmour Blog
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