Theo Todman's Book Collection (Book-Paper Abstracts)

Introduction

1. Apart from the concertante and chamber music parts for oboe in certain of the Brandenburg Concerti and Suites for Orchestra, a large proportion of the choral works of Bach contain important solo parts for oboe, oboe d'amore and cor anglais. Some of the Sinfonias to the Cantatas are for solo oboe with orchestral accompaniment, and in most of the arias the obbligato part is as important as the vocal line and the instrumentalist plays the opening statement of the theme, thus setting its tempo and mood. Such works are often physically and musically exacting and the student should study the parts carefully before a performance. These books should be useful for this purpose and the passages given are also valuable material for general practice. In a collection of this size it is impossible to include long excerpts from all the works: as a general rule I have quoted briefly from most of the important solo parts, and more fully from those which seem likely to be most frequently performed or which are particularly exacting for the player.
2. In these books the parts for oboe d'amore and cor anglais have been written in the correct keys for these instruments; no transposition is necessary unless the parts are to be played on the oboe.
3. The ornaments, phrasing and dynamics quoted are those given in the Bach Gesellschaft Edition.
4. The playing of ornaments in Bach is a controversial subject on which experts frequently differ; the suggested interpretation of the ornaments given here are based on some widely accepted conventions, but students are warned that these may not be universally approved.
5. Bach wrote very few tempo indications and those given in brackets are my suggestions for facilitating the student's practice.