Concerto for Violin and Oboe in C Minor

A violin and oboe float above the gentle lilt of a Siciliano-style accompaniment, entranced and entrancing and in perfect dialogue. The slow movement of BWV1060r is a still oasis, serenely separating the pithy C minor truculence of the "Allegro" movements that flank it. The concerto was probably composed during Bach’s time at Köthen (1717-23) when he had the excellent musicians of Prince Leopold’s court at his disposal. There are no surviving manuscripts however, and since Bach was in the habit of recycling earlier concertos to produce the harpsichord concertos that enlivened meetings of the Leipzig Collegium Musicum during the 1730s, scholars have surmised that the Concerto for Two Harpsichords, BWV1060 is a reworking of a lost original for violin and oboe. Reconstructed in the 20th century, BWV1060r’s instrumental respray helps to accentuate certain aspects of Bach’s first thoughts. In the first movement, for example, the flowing ritornello (recurring) theme is punctuated by the oboe’s playful end-of-phrase echoes; and for much of the movement the oboe seems to be in the driving seat, the violin busying itself with energising figuration before the conversation becomes more integrated. In the pugnacious and resolute finale, on the other hand, it’s the violin that dominates, especially relishing Bach’s injections of untrammelled bravado.