Concerto for horn, strings and b.c. in E Flat Major - Reconstruction from BWV 169, 49 and 1053
Concerto for horn, strings and b.c. in D Minor - Reconstruction from BWV 1059R and BWV 35
Concerto for horn, strings and b.c. in B flat major - Reconstruction from BWV 1055R

??t was normal in Bach’s day to set one’s own compositions to new texts. Against this background, and in the absence of concertos expressly written by Bach for the horn, a hornist of the calibre of Radek Baborák was understandably attracted to the idea of seeking out pieces suitable for his instrument. Baborák found what he was looking for in the Bach concertos, where Bach arranges his own works. The first concerto on this recording has been handed down to us as the Concerto for harpsichord BWV 1053. The B flat major Concerto was another case where Radek Baborák reconstructed a concerto that was the source of Bach’s Concerto for harpsichord BWV 1055. The Concerto in D minor required a somewhat different approach. From two instrumental movements from the Cantata Geist und Seele BWV 35 Radek Baborák has drawn upon the outer movements of this third concerto. The central movement originates in an oboe concerto by the Venetian composer Alessandro Marcello.

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Recording: October 17-19, 2020, Blackbird Music Studio, Berlin-Charlottenburg.