What are the key features of the third movement of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5?
Bach: 3rd movement from Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major. Its Baroque concerto-grosso scoring, fugal gigue subject, ritornello structure, and the concertino of flute, violin and harpsichord against the ripieno.
A focused answer to the Edexcel GCSE Music set work, the third movement of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major. Covers the concerto-grosso scoring, the fugal gigue subject, ritornello structure, the concertino of flute, violin and harpsichord, and the Baroque features the Component 3 exam rewards.
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What this dot point is asking
This is the first set work of Area of Study 1: the third movement of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major (around 1721). It is a Baroque concerto grosso finale, a lively gigue built as a fugue and organised on ritornello principles. You must know its scoring (the concertino soloists against the ripieno), its key, structure, texture and the Baroque features it displays.
Context and scoring
The third movement is the energetic finale of this three-movement concerto, returning to the home key of D major after the slower middle movement.
Structure: a fugal gigue with ritornello
The movement cleverly combines these: it opens as a fugue, with the subject passed between the concertino instruments in imitation, and the fugal material then functions like a ritornello, returning between solo episodes. The overall feel is a buoyant dance.
Texture, melody and rhythm
Harmony, tonality and Baroque features
How Edexcel examines this
This set work is examined with identification questions (name the concertino instruments, the key, the metre), describe/analyse questions on its texture and structure (fugue, ritornello, gigue, concerto grosso), and the unfamiliar-piece or Section B questions, which may pair it with another Baroque concerto extract. The mark scheme rewards the precise terms, fugue, subject, imitation, ritornello, concertino, ripieno, gigue, continuo, and recognising both the fugal counterpoint and the solo-tutti alternation. Listen for the harpsichord's busy figuration and the way the subject is passed between instruments.
Try this
Q1. What is the gigue's metre and character? [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. Compound time (6/8), with a fast, lively dancing character.
Q2. Why is the harpsichord's role in Brandenburg No. 5 historically significant? [Short explanation]
- Cue. It is treated as a full soloist (with a famous cadenza in the first movement) rather than only a continuo instrument, a landmark for keyboard concertos.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of Pearson Edexcel exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Edexcel 20192 marksName the three solo (concertino) instruments in the third movement of Brandenburg Concerto No. 5. (Component 3, Section A)Show worked answer →
One mark for naming the solo group correctly, a second for completeness. The concertino (solo group) is the flute, the violin and the harpsichord. The harpsichord is unusual here because it is a full soloist with a famous extended cadenza earlier in the first movement, not just a continuo instrument. The larger accompanying group (ripieno) is the strings and continuo. Markers reward the exact instruments; do not confuse the concertino soloists with the ripieno strings.
Edexcel 20214 marksDescribe the texture and structure of the third movement of Brandenburg Concerto No. 5. (Component 3, Section A)Show worked answer →
Up to four marks across texture and structure. Texture: the movement is contrapuntal/polyphonic, opening as a fugue with the subject entering in different parts in turn (imitation), and alternates solo (concertino) and tutti (ripieno) textures. Structure: it combines fugue with ritornello principles, the opening fugal material returning between episodes, in a lively gigue (compound time, 6/8). Markers reward correct terms (fugue, subject, imitation, ritornello, gigue) and recognising both the fugal counterpoint and the concerto-grosso alternation of solo and tutti.
Related dot points
- The context of Area of Study 1, Instrumental Music 1700 to 1820: the features of the Baroque and Classical styles, the development of the concerto and the piano sonata, and how the Bach and Beethoven set works represent the period.
A focused answer to the context of Edexcel GCSE Music Area of Study 1, covering the Baroque and Classical styles, the rise of the concerto and the piano sonata between 1700 and 1820, and how Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 and Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata represent the period in the Component 3 exam.
- Beethoven: 1st movement from Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor 'Pathetique'. Its sonata-form structure, the slow Grave introduction, the dramatic C minor mood, and the dynamic contrasts of early-Romantic piano writing.
A focused answer to the Edexcel GCSE Music set work, the first movement of Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata in C minor. Covers the slow Grave introduction, sonata form (exposition, development, recapitulation), the dramatic C minor mood, tremolo and dynamic contrasts, and the early-Romantic piano features the Component 3 exam rewards.
- Comparing the two instrumental set works (Bach's Brandenburg finale and Beethoven's Pathetique) across the musical elements, and applying that comparison to the 12-mark Section B extended response.
A focused answer comparing the two Edexcel GCSE Music instrumental set works, Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 finale and Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata, across the musical elements (Baroque versus Classical style, ensemble versus solo, counterpoint versus drama), and how to structure the 12-mark Section B comparison.
- Texture (monophonic, homophonic, polyphonic, heterophonic and unison) and structure (binary, ternary, verse and chorus, call and response, ritornello, sonata form and theme and variations), with the correct terms Edexcel rewards.
A focused answer to the Edexcel GCSE Music elements of texture and structure, covering monophonic, homophonic, polyphonic and heterophonic textures, the main musical structures from binary to sonata form, and how to identify and describe them with the precise vocabulary the Component 3 exam rewards.
- Rhythm and metre (simple and compound time, syncopation, dotted rhythms, triplets and swung rhythms), tempo (Italian terms), dynamics (piano to forte, crescendo and diminuendo) and articulation (legato, staccato, accent).
A focused answer to the Edexcel GCSE Music elements of rhythm, metre, tempo, dynamics and articulation, covering simple and compound time, syncopation and dotted rhythms, Italian tempo and dynamic terms, and the articulation vocabulary the Component 3 appraising and dictation questions reward.
Sources & how we know this
- Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Music (1MU0) specification — Pearson (2016)