Bach's Oboe (CD)

Johann Sebastian Bach certainly became acquainted with the sound of the oboe at an early age through his father Ambrosius, who was employed as a town piper in Eisenach. The fact that Johann Sebastian recognised and appreciated the expressive power of the oboe at a young age is evident in many of his early compositions, cantatas and concertos. However, there are neither solo nor trio sonatas involving the oboe among his surviving works. This CD fills this gap with a series of chamber music arrangements. Xenia Loffler, solo oboist at the Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin, presents two flute sonatas with obbligato harpsichord on her instrument, the first of which (BWV 1030b) was probably once even written for the oboe. The two organ trio sonatas in trio arrangement with oboe, violin or viola da gamba and basso continuno elicit new musical colours from the original works. Finally, the three chorale preludes and a chaconna are also very distinctive, which - in various chamber music settings - now allow the original organ works to shine vividly in wonderful tone colours.