Bach’s Concerto, BWV 1061, was written in Leipzig between 1732 and 1736. Oddly enough, this concerto was given its premiere in a Leipzig coffee-house. The coffee bean was introduced to Europe in the seventeenth century and soon led to a proliferation of coffeehouses throughout Europe -- not unlike the proliferation of Starbucks on the corners of America’s great cities, towns and, now, villages. As a result, like today, they became popular gathering places for the middle class, where citizens met to read the paper, play cards, talk (gossip), flirt and hold what many today would call the typical "jam session".

The Collegium Musicum of Leipzig, an important association of composers, musicians and serious music lovers, met regularly at Zimmerman’s coffee-house to play music, sing and sociaize. They would often present informal concerts that were open to the public. Bach, who was a member of the Collegium, often used the association as a means to present some of his works. Thus, it was for this group of music loving friends and colleagues that all his concertos for harpsichord from this period were written.

The harpsichord was traditionally seen as an inferior solo instrument in concertos. Its thin, delicate sound had little carrying power and was easily lost in the more powerful orchestral textures that would often surround it. But Bach, using the advances in harpsichord construction in France and Germany during the 1700’s which made the instrument more powerful, began to experiment with its possibilities as a solo instrument.

The C major concerto is unusually long, rich and complex. It stands out among his other concerti in its more weighted and substantial nature. The first movement is a vigorous, animated discussion between the two solo instruments, with the orchestra acting as an interested observer, but occasionally interjecting comments of the two soloists. In the second movement, the orchestra is silent while the two harpsichords play a delicate Siciliano, a popular slow dance in 6/8 time. The final Fuga is a marvelous display of contrapuntal expertise.