Belgian baroque ensemble Il Gardellino performs Johann Sebastian Bach’s Concerto for Violin and Oboe in c minor, BWV 1060R. Soloist (oboe): Marcel Ponseele. While the existing score is in the form of a concerto for harpsichord and strings (BWV 1060), Bach scholars believe it to be a transcription of a lost double concerto in D minor; a reconstructed arrangement of this concerto for two violins or violin and oboe is classified as BWV 1060R.
Movements:
- Allegro
- Adagio
- Allegro
The subtle and masterful way in which the solo instruments blend with the orchestra marks this out as one of the most mature works of Bach’s years at Köthen. The second movement is a cantabile for the solo instruments with orchestral accompaniment. Cantabile is an Italian word, that means literally “singable” or “song-like”. In instrumental music, it is a particular style of playing designed to imitate the human voice.
Il Gardellino
Founded in 1988, Belgian baroque ensemble Il Gardellino borrows its name from Antonio Vivaldi’s concerto “Il Gardellino” (R90) for flute, oboe, violin, bassoon and basso continuo. The core of the ensemble consists of Marcel Ponseele (oboe), Jan De Winne (traverso), Shalev Ad-El (harpsichord), Ryo Terakado (violin), Mika Akiha (viola) and Hervé Douchy (violoncello).
For concerts or recordings, they are joined by renowned musicians such as François Fernandez (violin and viola), Vittorio Ghielmi (viola da gamba), and several other wind players. All of them enjoy a considerable reputation in the world of historical performances.
They are leaders – and sometimes even co-founders – of ensembles such as the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, La Petite Bande, L’Orchestre des Champs-Elysées and Collegium Vocale. Having spent many years in authentic practice, they master all the subtleties at their fingertips. However, as assembled in il Gardellino, they aim to make a difference and create something at the cutting edge.
While upholding Bach’s works and especially his spirit as their guide, at the same time they wish to put him into a contrastive perspective. They juxtapose his works with those of his contemporaries whose repertoire is too often neglected. They play with our own contemporaries in the fields of contemporary music, jazz, world music, etc. During their tours, they invite writers, philosophers, cinematographers, or video makers and weave a dialogue with other forms of artistic expression.
Having already accomplished some pioneering performances with jazz musicians (while playing on their period instruments of course), they plan future programs along more traditional lines which will include sacred vocal music as well as opera. After having performed and been highly praised at many festivals and concert halls in Europe, il Gardellino has been recently enjoying an ever-increasing success in the United States, Israel, South America, and Japan.
Many CDs have been and will further be recorded for the labels Accent, Klara, and Passacaille.
Sources
- Keyboard concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach on Wikipedia
- Il Gardellino official website
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I listen to that music and think to myself that is the type of music that those people with mental health issues should listen to, it is so relaxing and soothing it must do them some good.