Bach's horn players had a specific skill set, including exploiting the highest notes on their instrument, making some pieces physically demanding for modern players.
Composition History
Bach's Mass in F, thought to be written around 1738/39 in Leipzig, was likely composed for Gottfried Reiche, a multi-instrumentalist Stadtpfeifer.
Compositional Technique
The Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 exploits the horn's dual allegiances, with opening hunting fanfares and later refined melismatic lines with oboes and violins.
Composition History
Bach composed for the horn just as it was being accepted into the musical world, and his players included some of the first formally-trained horn players.
Composition History
The Missa (BWV 232.2) later formed the basis of the Mass in B minor (BWV 232.4), which Bach expanded towards the end of his life.
Composition History
Bach's earliest work for horns, the 'Hunt Cantata' BWV 208, was likely written for Johann Zedelmayer and Anton Fischer, two named horn players employed by Duke Christian of Saxe-Weissenfels.
Compositional Technique
The new BWV3 Bach catalogue uses a '.1, .2, .3' system to distinguish different versions of works chronologically, rather than by a value judgment, as seen in the works on this album.
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Handel: Dixit Dominus, Organ Concerto No. 13, Laudate Pueri
