Handel and Haydn Society to perform complete Brandenburg Concertos at Mechanics Hall

As a job application, it didn't go so well for J.S. Bach.

In 1721 he dedicated six concertos to Christian Ludwig, the Margrave (Marquess) of Brandenburg and the younger brother of King Frederick I of of Prussia. Bach was probably hoping to land a position in court. But the pieces were never performed and the Margrave may never even have looked at them.

The concertos sat in a library until 1849, when they were discovered and published for the first time.

It would likely have been little consolation to Bach in his lifetime, but the Brandenburg Concertos, as they are now known, are considered among the great masterpieces of classical music.

Boston’s Grammy-winning Handel and Haydn Society will perform all six concertos in a concert at 8 p.m. Feb. 18 in Mechanics Hall presented by Music Worcester.

One or two of the concertos performed at a concert is more common than a complete performance of all of them.

"I don't think Bach really considered this as a work to be played as a whole," said Ian Watson, associate conductor of the Handel and Haydn Society and principal keyboard player. "It was more a testament to Bach's versatility, instrumentation and style."

An assortment of instruments, music styles

However, "As it happens it does work as a wonderful concert experience with all six," Watson said.

The Handel and Haydn Society (known popularly as H+H) will also be performing the complete Brandenburg Concertos Feb. 17 in Jordan Hall, Boston, and Feb. 19 in Sanders Theatre, Cambridge.

Each concerto uses a different combination of instruments and shows off different musical styles. "They're not very long and they're unique," Watson said.

About 20 musicians will be on the Mechanics Hall stage for the H+H performance, all playing with period instruments, Watson said. Watson will be playing the harpsichord.

"They're not all playing at the same time. The harpsichord is one of the few instruments that plays all the way through," he said.

The harpsichord is featured prominently in Concerto No. 5 which is often referred to as the first keyboard concerto of the period, Watson said.

"The piece itself is very unusual. Very virtuoso. It's unusual to find that in a piece like this," he said.

Watson to co-direct

Watson will be co-directing the orchestra while seated at the harpsichord along with concertmaster and violinist Aisslinn Nosky ("a phenomenal player," Watson said).

"We don't need a conductor as such, but either Aisslinn or me are focal points," Watson said.

That's the way it would have been in Bach's time, when Baroque orchestras generally did not have a conductor.

Similarly, the period instruments are "instruments for which the pieces were conceived, instruments that Bach would instantly definitely know and recognize should he walk into the room," Watson said. Not "instruments subject, quote, to 'improvements' over the centuries."

For example, the period horns and trumpets don't have valves, making them extremely difficult to play.

"Why do we use them? We feel we can get much closer to the spirit and sound of Bach's intentions. They're hard to play but the benefits outweigh any of those difficulties," Watson said.

Watson has been with H+H since 2007, but he may be familiar to Worcester audiences from some of the other positions he has held since coming to the U.S. from his native England, where he had established his career as a pianist, organist, harpsichordist and conductor.

Former St. Paul's music director

Watson was music director at St. Paul's Cathedral in Worcester from 2001 to 2011 and artistic director of the Arcadia Players in Northampton from 2004 to 2019.

"We did a lot of good things at St. Paul's Cathedral. It was a fun time," Watson said.

He brought the Arcadia Players to Worcester for several concerts. Andrew Arceci, founder of the Winchendon Music Festival, is the current artistic director of the Arcadia Players.

Watson is also a former member of the Worcester Chamber Music Society, and is one of the pianists at the annual Duo Piano Gala at Tuckerman Hall.

Since 2016, he has been artistic director of the Connecticut Early Music Festival, and Watson is music director for the summer at St. Ann's Episcopal Church in Kennebunkport, Maine, where the congregation has included the late President George H.W. Bush and his family.

Until the end of last year he also was director of music at First Parish of Lincoln. He's substituting as an organist at some churches on Sundays prior to this summer at St. Ann's, but said, "I've been playing organ at church since I was 14. It's nice to have the occasional Sunday off."

With all his jobs, Watson still lives locally in Shrewsbury. "I stayed around here," said Watson, whose longest tenure is with H+H.

Meanwhile, H+H has has been captivating audiences for 207 consecutive seasons since its debut in 1815, the most of any performing arts organization in the U.S. H+H has always been both a musical and civic leader in the Boston community.

H+H gave numerous concerts in support of the Union Army (H+H member Julia Ward Howe wrote “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”) and performed at the Grand Jubilee Concert celebrating the enactment of the Emancipation Proclamation. Two years later, H+H performed at the memorial service for President Abraham Lincoln.

Today, H+H's Orchestra and Chorus performs at Symphony Hall in Boston and other leading venues and runs programs supporting youth choirs and free tickets for children.

"It's really high quality, fantastic musicians," Watson said.

Fellow Brit Jonathan Cohen has been named the new artistic director of H+H effective for the 2023-24 season.

"We're looking forward to working with him. He hasn't started yet, but I think there are some wonderful plans,' Watson said.

Handel and Haydn Society — J.S. Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, presented by Music Worcester

When: 8 p.m. Feb. 18

Where: Mechanics Hall, 321 Main St., Worcester. Pre-concert talk by Chris Shepard, Bach scholar and director of the Worcester Chorus, 7 p.m. in Washburn Hall

How much: $35 to $49; students, $17.50; youth 18 and younger, $7.50; musicworcester.org

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Handel and Haydn Society to perform Brandenburg Concertos at Mechanics Hall