Oboe Concerto (Marcello)

The Concerto for Oboe and Strings in D minor, attributed to Alessandro Marcello, is one of the most performed oboe concertos in the repertory. It was written in the early 18th century and has become Marcello's most famous work. Bach wrote a keyboard transcription of the concerto.

Attribution

Although the concerto was first published as Alessandro's in the early 18th century, it was grouped with Vivaldi concertos in some 18th century manuscripts and the 19th century first print of Bach's arrangement. One manuscript of the oboe version attributed it to Alessandro's brother Benedetto, and that was how the concerto was known for a large part of the 20th century, but from the late 20th century the concerto is generally again attributed to Alessandro.

Movements

The piece has three movements:

1. Andante spiccato
2. Adagio
3. Presto

The concerto survives in different printed and manuscript versions, one of these in C minor.

Bach's transcription

Johann Sebastian Bach wrote a transcription of the piece in D minor for harpsichord (BWV 974), enhancing the dramatics of the first movement and embellishing the Adagio.

Other versions

The concerto has also been recorded played on a piccolo trumpet - a notoriously challenging transcription due to the breath control and tight embouchure required for its sustained passages in the higher register.

Sources

• David Schulenberg. "Concerto No. 3 in D minor BWV 974" in The Keyboard Music of J.S. Bach, 2nd edition, p. 130 Routledge, 2013. ISBN 9781136091469

Score editions

• "Concerto II: del Sig. Alexandro Marcello" in Concerti a Cinque: Con Violini, Oboè, Violetta, Violoncello e Basso Continuo, Volume I. Amsterdam: Jeanne Roger (Catalogue No. 432), c.1716.
• Bernard Howard Gilmore. Alessandro Marcello's Concerto in D minor, for oboe, strings, and continuo: A practical edition and discussion, No. 1 Department of Music, 1965.
• Ernst Naumann (ed.) Concerto III (pp. 73–79) of "VIII: XVI Concerte nach A. Vivaldi" in Volume 42: Clavierwerke, Band 5 of the Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe. Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel, 1894. Plate B.W. XLII.
• Karl Heller. "Concerto d-moll BWV 974 nach dem Oboenkonzert von Marcello" in Johann Sebastian Bach: Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke, Series V: Keyboard and Lute Works, Volume 11: Arrangements of Works from other Composers. Bärenreiter, 1997.

External links

• Marcello's Concerto in D minor for Oboe, Strings and Basso continuo: a view of its origin and use in J.S. Bach's Concerto III for solo harpsichord, BWV 974
• Oboe Concerto in D minor, S.Z799: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project