Albrecht Mayer - New Seasons - Handel for Oboe & Orchestra (2006)

New Seasons is a project undertaken by oboist Albrecht Mayer to create "new" concertos for oboe, based primarily on the operas and oratorios of George Frideric Handel. He and arranger Andreas N. Tarkmann used arias, sometimes including bits of recitative, and gave the vocal lines to the oboe, flute, and bassoon without changing too much of the accompanimental parts to create a cycle of four concertos. Compared to Handel's original instrumental music, these are naturally more lyrical and sometimes more declamatory, but it is surprising how often the music is very dance-like. Lively, moving rhythms are not what is normally expected in vocal music, but it makes the arias used here very natural sounding as concerto movements. Mayer and Tarkmann do not always follow the slow-fast alternation of movements traditionally found in most Baroque instrumental music. In each of the concertos there is a very short, slow movement, ending on a false cadence that implies it is meant to be some sort of introduction or lead-in to the subsequent movement. However, the spacing between tracks plus the fact that most of them lead right into another slow movement contradicts this notion. Each concerto is separated by a transcription or two of some of Handel's most famous melodies, such as "Ombra mai fu" and "The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba." It almost seems to say "If you know this tune, you aren't listening to one of the concertos," and is a little distracting. Otherwise, all of the music is elegant and gracefully performed by Mayer, his fellow soloists, and the Sinfonia Varsovia, regardless of whether it's a merry jig or solemn meditation, and very warmly captured. Some may question why anyone would want to create "new" Baroque concertos for oboe when there are so many already existing. But the idea of creating concertos out of vocal music is an interesting one, expertly carried out here.