Bach's groundbreaking 'Concertos for several instruments' puts the collective virtuosity of the OAE in the spotlight as the tour comes to Portsmouth.

The Brandenburg Concertos present one of music’s great riddles. Bach sent them to Christian Ludwig, the Margrave of Brandenburg and brother of King Frederick I of Prussia, as a gift in 1721. For reasons unknown, he seems to have quietly filed them away after which they changed hands several times before being ‘lost’ until around 1850 when they were eventually published as a set.

It is music of endless inventiveness – from the intricate silken passage work for strings in Nos. 3 and 6 to the dazzling virtuosity of the trumpet in No. 2 – which demands a supergroup ensemble of virtuosos.

Huw Daniel piccolo violin/director
Margaret Faultless violin/director
Rodolfo Richter violin/director
Oliver Wilson viola/director
Lisa Beznosiuk flute
Rachel Beckett recorder
Catherine Latham recorder
Leo Duarte oboe
David Blackadder trumpet
Steven Devine harpsichord