The Oboe (in Dresden)

Xenia Löffler offers a recital on the Accent label featuring works for oboe from the collection of music by Pisendel, the violinist and orchestra leader in Dresden during the mid-18th century.

The composers represented won't necessarily be new: Fasch, Hasse, Vivaldi, Telemann... among others. The pieces are not only oboe pieces; some combine other soloists (violin, bassoon, chalumeau, and a duet of oboes with continuo).

Across the board, the recording is crisp and the musicality of the musicians comes through crystal-clear. Most appealing is the sense of air around the musicians, a sign that the miking in the recording was well-executed to capture appropriate space around each musician without losing the resolution of each instrument.

Most of the pieces were new to me, which is always a treat. The fact we associate Pisendel with violin works makes the reveal of his treasure trove an especially welcome find. The quality of the writing teeters between good and superlative; in some cases the style of the pieces makes identifying a different author difficult. No doubt, Ms. Löffler chose good pieces, but it also speaks to the high quality of the Dresden orchestra music collection.

Perhaps the oddest piece in the collection is the final three-movement sonata in F from Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel that features oboe and violin with horn. The piece most definitely whiffs of a more galant age; the oboe and violin are pitted as a duo against the horn part. It's a chamber piece with a very unique orchestration but also fresh motives. Hasse's concerto is also written clearly within a more galant idiom.

The collection as a whole is remarkable for its diversity in color and the subtle shift in stylistic flavor. Well done and recommended.