The Brandenburg Concertos are by far the best known and most highly regarded of Bach's orchestral works. With this release, Telarc offers an intense, authentic reading in clear, 20-bit sound. Nominated for a Grammy award for their Messiah on Telarc, the Boston Baroque gives zestful performances of Boroque repertoire - so much so that they bring new life to these famous works. The heaviest and one of the two longest of the six concertos, Concerto No. 1 gives solo roles to the horns, oboe and violino piccolo ( an instrument tuned a minor 3rd above normal). Concerto No. 2 possesses a higher and more transparent texture than the others, bringing together the trumpet, recorder, oboe and violin. The trumpet in F is a light instrument and does not over power the other soprano solo instruments. Concerto No. 3 requires just strings and continuo and, curiously enough, has no slow movement.

These concertos, along with Telarc's complementary Concertos Nos. 4, 5 and 6 released by the Boston Baroque in May 1993, are performed brilliantly on period instruments.