CD Contents:

SONATA IN SOL MINORE BWV1030 b per Oboe e Clavicembalo

PARTITA IN SOL MINORE BWV 1013 per Oboe solo

SONATA IN MI BEMOLLE MAGGIORE BWV 1031 per Oboe e Clavicembalo

SONATA IN SOL MINORE Wq 132 per Oboe solo

SONATA IN SOL MINORE BWV 1020 per Oboe e Clavicembalo

Sonata in G Minor for Oboe and Harpsichord Johann Sebastian Bach (revised R.Meylan, published by Peters n. 8118 (Andante), Siciliano, Presto. A hand-written and complete version of this piece in B minor for flute has come down to us, which can be dated to about 1735. In two of the four manuscript sources the violin is envisaged as an alternative. A previous version, probably composed during his period in Kothen, which has come down to us but only in the part for harpsichord in G minor, leads one to think of an arrangement for instruments which is different again. Both Meylan, who was responsible for the reconstruction, and the musicologist Alberto Basso, think that the oboe may have been the first instrument for which it was destined: 'A magisterial work (amongst the compositions by Bach for the flute this is perhaps his masterpiece), this sonata begins with a first part which is extraordinarily broad, in an andante time, carried forward with an ornamental taste very rich in imitations of standard musical forms. Although this first movement has a character of a rigorously concerto character, the second, a largo and sweet bipartito, is strictly a solo work and opens up remarkable melodic spaces. A presto acts as a prelude to a finale pursued with enthralling rhythmic effects, along the lines of a giga (in 12/16) and constructed upon the ambivalence of the two instruments, in a closed and linear dialogue which emphasises the virtuoso end of the page' (Alberto Basso, Frau Musika, EDT, vol. I, p. 637).

Partita in G minor for Solo Oboe Johann Sebastian Bach (transcription by H.Wangenheim, published by Zimmermann ZM 2629) Allemande, Corrente, Sarabande, Bourrée Anglaise This is the transcription which is a tone beneath the version which has come down to us for solo flute in a manuscript made by two different copyists and which also contains the sonatas and partitas for solo violin. This is the reason why for a long time it was also attributed to the violin. Composed around 1722?3, it follows a tradition of compositions for a single wind instrument, which had precedents with J.J.Hotteterre, G.P.Telemann, and S.Bodinus. The composition is organised in four movements which, with the exclusion of the 'bourrée anglaise' which ends the partita, could make up a suite. The opening 'allemande', in a bipartito form like the other movements, is made up of a constant figuration of arpeggiated sixteenths without pauses. Precisely because of this characteristic - which makes this 'allemande' very difficult for a wind instrument - for many years it was attributed to the violin. It is followed by a virtuoso 'corrente', and a by a 'sarabanda' which does not, however, display the prevalent characteristics of this dance.

Sonata in E Flat Major BWV 1031 for Oboe and Harpsichord Johann Sebastian Bach (published by Bareneiter 4418) Allegro moderato, Siciliano, Allegro Sonata in G Minor BWV 1020 for Oboe and Harpsichord Johann Sebastian Bach (published by Barenreiter 4418) Allegro, Adagio, Allegro These two sonatas, placed by us before and after the sonata in G minor by K.P.E.Bach, are two works of uncertain authorship with similar characteristics in the organisation of their parts and their styles. Both have three parts, and draw near in taste to the Italian?style concerto, with the concertante harpsichord to which are entrusted the introductory parts of the allegro movements, while the central movements are cantible sicilianas which are all entrusted to the wind instrument. Their evolved form, despite the fact that the sonata in G minor is likely to be a work of the composer's youth, distances them from the Baroque style and projects them towards the galante style. It is for this reason that they have often been attributed to Bach's son, Karl Philip Emanuel.

Sonata in G minor Wq 132 Karl Philip Emanuel Bach (transcription by B.Welpmann, published by Karthause n. 45) Poco Adagio, Allegro, Allegro Printed in 1763, this piece belongs to the late work of Bach. It is lower by a tone than the version for flute. The harmonic progressions which characterise above all the third movement - an allegro in 3/8 - are very original.