Bach: Concertos For Oboe And Oboe D'Amore

"To start their series of the complete orchestral music of Bach, in this 250th anniversary year, Naxos kicks off with a superb set of concertos for oboe and oboe d'amore. These are lost scores but are believed to have been used by Bach for other instruments, including the well-known harpsichord concertos. Whatever their provenance, Christian Hommell and the Cologne Chamber Orchestra under Helmut Mueller-Bruehl play them with great style and virtuosity. A delightfully different disc that is most entertaining."
- Sunday Tribune (Dublin), March 19, 2000

Johann Sebastian Bach was one of the most prolific composers working in the early part of the 18th century. A distinguished organist, his church appointments demanded a vast output of sacred music. He did, however, find time to produce a small number of orchestral works. They included a fine series of harpsichord concertos, though much of the material he used is believed to have come from earlier unpublished woodwind concertos. Those original scores have been lost, but it has been possible to reconstruct the works for the oboe and oboe d'amore. The concertos contain some of the composer's best-loved and most famous melodies.