OCR AS & IB HL/SL set work: Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No.2 in F, first movement

This resource is the first of a series to support the teaching of the three new OCR AS Prescribed Orchestral Scores in Unit G353: Introduction to Historical Study in Music, for examination in June 2016.

The primary focus of this article will be on the Expressive Use of Instrumental Techniques, Tonality (The Language of Western Tonal Harmony) and the Context of the work. Additionally, since Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 is also one of the two new set works for IB Higher Level, other elements of music in this movement will also be discussed (for example melody and rhythm). However, due to limitations of space, movements 2 and 3 will not be discussed in this article.