Page "Brandenburg concertos" Paragraph 6

The dedication page Bach wrote for the collection indicates they are Concerts avec plusieurs instruments ( Concertos with several instruments ).

Bach used the " widest spectrum of orchestral instruments ... in daring combinations ," as Christoph Wolff has commented.

" Every one of the six concertos set a precedent in scoring, and every one was to remain without parallel.

" Heinrich Besseler has noted that the overall forces required ( leaving aside the first concerto, which was rewritten for a special occasion ) tallies exactly with the 17 players Bach had at his disposal in Köthen.