J.S. Bach: Oboe Concertos

“Ogrintchouk plays [the Oboe d'amore Concerto] beautifully...with a just appreciation of the instrument's mellow tonal qualities. He has the understanding of how Bach's long phrases are braced by shorter ones within their spin, which is an essential quality of good Bach-playing.” --Gramophone Magazine, February 2011

“What's consistently authentic...is the quality of Ogrintchouk's playing, with its fulsome tone and clean articulation. He's placed well forward in the sound picture but the contribution of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra is important, too; forget the musicology, it's a delightful disc.” --The Guardian, 23rd December 2010 ****

In many of J. S. Bach’s cantatas, passions and oratorios, the oboe – and its various relatives such as the oboe d’amore and oboe da caccia – plays a prominent role. Using it as his preferred obbligato instrument, Bach obviously cherished the versatility of the oboe and selected it to accompany arias that deal with grief and heavenly joys, repentance and pastoral calm.

Researchers have for a long time thought that his keyboard concertos were originally composed for other instruments, and much evidence points to certain of them being intended for the oboe, or oboe d’amore. Four such works have been gathered here, together with the Adagio from the composer’s Easter Oratorio, in performances by Alexei Ogrintchouk, one of today’s outstanding oboists.

MP3 320 · 140 MB