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Why may Johann Sebastian Bach have considered Prince Leopold’s viola da gamba skills when composing Brandenburg Concerto No. 6?

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Painting by Elias Gottlieb Hausmann of Johann Sebastian Bach wearing a dark coat with a white shirt and holding a sheet of music in his left hand. — Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach.

It has been suggested that when Johann Sebastian Bach composed the Brandenburg Concerto No. 6, he took into account the technical limitations of Prince Leopold of Köthen, who played the viola da gamba.1

While Bach was a musical director at the court of Köthen, he maintained a positive relationship with the prince, who was genuinely musical. The sixth concerto is unique within the Brandenburg collection because it excludes violins entirely, instead spotlighting the lower strings. By focusing on these instruments, the composition may have been tailored to accommodate the prince's specific skills and abilities on the gamba.12