The first eight measures present the thematic material. We will call these measures ritornello since they reappear throughout the movement.

Three voice reduction of the first eight bars:

• The trumpet (tromba) plays the upper voice. Sometimes it reinforces the orchestra harmonically and rhythmically. At other times, it plays as a soloist over the orchestra.
• The flute, oboe, solo violin, and first violin play the inner voice.
• Violone and continuo play the bass.
• The second violin and the viola make a counterpoint to the inner voice (it does not appear in the reduction).
• The harmonic plan is limited to tonic and dominant and a second degree.
• We find two main motifs (marked in red and blue).

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Here is the orchestrated passage:

Vincent DiMartino (trompeta), Arnold (flauta dulce), Rennick (oboe), Saunders (violín), Lexington Bach Choir Orchestra
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Short two-bar passages by the soloists alternate with orchestral tutti in measures 8 to 28.

Measures 8 to 10: the solo flute and oboe begin this section where the violin is the soloist.

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Measures 10 to 12: orchestral tutti. Material from the ritornello reappears. The trumpet reinforces the tonic harmony.

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Measures 12 to 14: oboe and violin solos.

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Measures 12 to 14: oboe and violin solos. Measures 14 to 16: tutti with material from the ritornello in C major. The trumpet develops as soloist the sixteenth note motif.

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Measures 16 to 18: flute and oboe solos in C major.

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Measures 18 to 20: tutti in C major. Again the trumpet plays the role of soloist over the ritornello material.

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Measures 20 to 22: trumpet and flute solos in C major.

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Measures 22 to 28: tutti orchestral concludes the section by affirming the key of C major with an abbreviated ritornello.

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Here is the orchestrated passage:

Vincent DiMartino (trumpet), Arnold (flute), Rennick (oboe), Saunders (violin), Lexington Bach Choir Orchestra
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

We return to F major in measure 28. The trumpet and violin are the soloists:

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• D minor key.
• The flute enters in the last eighth note of measure 30, followed by the oboe in measure 32.
• A cycle of fifths affirms the key of D minor.
• From measure 33 on, we have the four soloists playing over the orchestral tutti.

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In measure 36, the ritornello affirms the key of D minor.

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Here is the orchestrated passage:

Vincent DiMartino (trumpet), Arnold (flute), Rennick (oboe), Saunders (violin), Lexington Bach Choir Orchestra
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Already in the key of D minor, this passage is played by the whole orchestra. It will be repeated as a sequence of fifths in the keys of G and C major in the following measures:

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When repeated in G major (distant key of F major), the trumpet and flute exchange voices:

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When repeated in C major, the trumpet rests, and the flute and oboe take over the upper voices:

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The passage concludes with the ritornello in F major. In measure 49, Bach surprises us with an unexpected B-flat major dominant seventh chord:

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Here is the orchestrated passage:

Vincent DiMartino (trumpet), Arnold (flute), Rennick (oboe), Saunders (violin), Lexington Bach Choir Orchestra
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Measures 50 to 59 develop a new harmonic sequence. This time it is an ascending progression that modulates to B flat major.

This sequence uses dominant seventh chords following the pattern of descending second and ascending third:

The whole orchestra and the soloists play this two bars progression:

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The solo instruments exchange voices on the first repetition:

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The second repetition ends in a cadence in the key of B flat major:

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The section ends with the ritornello in B flat major:

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Here is the orchestrated passage:

Vincent DiMartino (trumpet), Arnold (flute), Rennick (oboe), Saunders (violin), Lexington Bach Choir Orchestra
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

• A descending thirds progression takes us to E flat major and C minor. Both keys are distant to F major.
• The flute is the principal soloist in the first bars, accompanied by the violin.
• The passage starts in Bb major.

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The passage is repeated, this time in G minor. Violin and flute exchange voices.

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The passage is repeated in E flat major (distant key). The oboe joins the flute and violin.

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We arrive at C minor (distant key). The trumpet joins the other soloists.

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We conclude with the ritornello, somewhat hidden among the solos.

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Here is the orchestrated passage:

Vincent DiMartino (trumpet), Arnold (flute), Rennick (oboe), Saunders (violin), Lexington Bach Choir Orchestra
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

An ascending progression using dominant chords similar to that of measures 50 to 59 leads to G minor. The soloists exchange thematic material over orchestral accompaniment:

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• Two measures of ritornello in measures 75 and 76, followed by a progression of fifths, affirm the key of G minor.
• All four soloists are active.
• From measure 80 on, four measures of ritornello conclude the section in G minor.

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Here is the orchestrated passage:

Vincent DiMartino (trumpet), Arnold (flute), Rennick (oboe), Saunders (violin), Lexington Bach Choir Orchestra
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

• Measures 83 and 84: Key of G minor. The violins and violas accompany the four soloists.
• Measures 85 and 86: We move to the dominant of D minor. Cello and continuo imitating the violins and viola of the previous measures, accompany the soloists.

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• Cello and continuo present the ritornello motif and are imitated by the trumpet.
• The four soloists are still active.
• A march of fifths from measure 91 leads us to A minor.

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• The trumpet and oboe imitate the flute and violin in measure 94.
• A march of fifths affirms the key of A minor.

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• As in previous sections, the ritornello in A minor concludes the section.

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Here is the orchestrated passage:

Vincent DiMartino (trumpet), Arnold (flute), Rennick (oboe), Saunders (violin), Lexington Bach Choir Orchestra
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

• In measures 102 to 104, the entire orchestra plays the ritornello theme in unison.
• The trumpet, flute, oboe, and violin accompanied by the orchestra take on the role of soloists from the last eighth note of measure 104 onwards.
• The passage ends surprisingly on an B-flat dominant chord.

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• An ascending progression similar to measures 50 to 59 - using auxiliary dominants begins.
• The four soloists play over the orchestra.
• The passage ends on an F dominant chord for the final presentation of the ritornello in measures 113 to 118.

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Here is the orchestrated passage:

Vincent DiMartino (trumpet), Arnold (flute), Rennick (oboe), Saunders (violin), Lexington Bach Choir Orchestra
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0