Albrecht Mayer is the principal oboe of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, and he is an amazing virtuoso. On this CD, we have one fine recording of Bach cantatas arranged for oboe instead of voice.
The sounds of the oboe, Oboe D’Amore, or English Horn, at times augmented by the baroque choir and backed by the English Concert, are wonderfully serene, and musical. You feel that the oboe was as familiar to Bach as the harpsichord was.
One can listen to this CD and be transported to a world of calmness, tranquility, beauty, and reverence. And it is mainly the playing of Albrecht Mayer that makes this happen.
Here is a lovely 5 minutes of music extracts and dialog on Mr. Mayer’s interpretations: