COMPOSERS: Albinoni
LABELS: Chandos Chaconne
WORKS: Double Oboe and String Concertos, Vol. 1
PERFORMER: Anthony Robson, Catherine Latham (oboe) Collegium Musicum 90/Simon Standage
CATALOGUE NO: CHAN 0602
Albinoni’s Op. 7 (1715) and Op. 9 (1722) contain the earliest published oboe concertos. Each set comprises four single-oboe concertos, four with double oboes and four for strings alone. In 1995 Anthony Robson and Collegium Musicum 90 recorded all eight single-oboe concertos on a highly acclaimed CD. This new disc is the first of two that will complete their Op. 7 and Op. 9 recordings, and it alternates four double-oboe concertos with four for strings.
The performances are excellent, the oboists fluent and assured, the strings deft and lively. The lighter textures of the period instruments enhance Albinoni’s celebrated ‘poise’ and underline his rhythmic vigour. Full of felicitous touches and inventive detail, his music remains a gently persuasive pleasure. Graham Lock