As part of its annual tradition, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra presents five out of the six “Brandenburg” Concertos written by Johann Sebastian Bach. While not composed as Christmas music, the festive spirit of the works aligns perfectly with the season, making them a beloved secular treat.
The concertos also reveal the magnetism and intimacy of the chamber form. With unusual combinations of instruments — often highlighting players who don’t typically get the spotlight — the music allows individual musicians to shine within small, agile ensembles.
The Friday performance began with the “Brandenburg” Concerto No. 1, featuring three oboes, two horns and a violin soloist. With its merry spirit and dance-like energy, the work’s warm sound derives from the resonant horns, while the oboes add a delicate timbre. Eunae Koh delivered an impressive, assertive statement on violin, her lines weaving through the texture with clarity.
The second movement opens with the startling beauty of an oboe solo, soon taken up by the violin. In the third, a horn ascends so high it nearly mimics the softness of a flute. By the fourth, the various sections trade phrases like members of a lively assembly, each contributing its own voice to the spirited conversation.
The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra performing at the Ordway in 2024. The Orchestra is performing Bach’s “Brandenburg” Concertos at the same venue through Dec. 14, 2025. (Claire Loes/The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra).
The orchestra then moved to the Sixth Concerto, the only work in the set that omits violins entirely. With two violas at the center, the piece settles into a warm, dusky sound. During the second movement, a mellow tone emerges, lines unfolding with a quiet glow that feels inward and unhurried. Then in the third movement, a familiar melody jumps brightly in and out of the texture before slipping into double time, creating a swirling sense of motion that lifts the concerto’s darker palette into something unexpectedly buoyant.
After intermission came the Fifth Concerto, where the harpsichord takes command. Jeffrey Grossman played with ceaseless motion, shifting gears effortlessly and attacking Bach’s intricate passages with assertive vigor. The harpsichord’s extended cadenza at the end of the first movement feels almost unhinged in its exuberance, evoking the frenetic energy of a video game soundtrack.
The program then moved to the Third Concerto, a piece so popular with student orchestras that its opening bars are practically a rite of passage. But in the hands of the SPCO, the work’s structure came into sharper relief. Though it technically lacks designated soloists, the writing turns nearly every musician into one, each line racing through quick motion and tight interplay. The ensemble’s articulation was crisp, giving the music a buoyant, athletic edge, a pulse that reflects the mathematical precision underlying all the concertos.
Bach’s “Brandenburg” Concertos are pure geometry — an exercise in balance and weight, in the adornment of each line, and in the beauty of musical mathematics. Their invigorating pulse can feel almost physiological, quickening the heartbeat as one pattern unlocks another.
Finally, the performance concluded with the Fourth Concerto, featuring principal violin Kyu-Young Kim alongside flutists Julia Bogorad-Kogan and Alicia McQuerrey. Kim played with a light, quicksilver touch, spinning out fast notes with a dancer’s poise, while the two flutes echoed and entwined around him, brightening the texture with airy brilliance. The concerto’s interplay — nimble, conversational, and joyous — made for an uplifting finale.
St. Paul Chamber Orchestra
What: Bach’s “Brandenburg” Concertos
When: 7 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday
Where: The Ordway, 345 Washington St., St. Paul
Tickets: thespco.org
Capsule: A secular holiday tradition relishing in the chamber form.
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