Brandenberg Number Five Poem by gershon hepner

In number five the harpsichord,
first willing that its role should be
subservient, later, maybe bored,
bursts forth and struggles to be free
in a cadenza, like a wife
who proves that she is far more than
a shadow of her leading man,
and ends not how she first began,
but independent and creative.
The keyboard thus in number five
controls, not merely copulative,
the masterpiece with its hard drive.

Inspired while listening to Alan Chapman on KUSC broadcast the Fifth Brandenberg Concerto, performed by the Academy of Ancient Music. The work contains the most amazing cadenza in the first movement:
As the opening movement of the Brandenburg Concerto Number Five in D major unfolds, the harpsichord seems at first willing to play a subservient role as part of the continuo. But as time goes on it becomes more and more assertive until finally it bursts forth into an astonishing cadenza of tremendous difficulty. Violin and flute share the solo spot at the beginning. but once the cadenza begins, they are cast completely into the shade. At the opening of the cadenza, we are listening to the dying strains from the keyboard as mere continuo accompaniment and the birth of the virtuoso harpsichord concerto.


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