Ensemble Marsyas - Zelenka Sonatas - Baker & Taylor CD Hotlist

I've long been a sucker for the chamber music (and orchestral music, and choral music for that matter) of the Bohemian composer Jan Dismas Zelenka, who was largely ignored in the twentieth century until interest in early music began to pick up in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He is particularly beloved by reed players, and the three sonatas and one andante movement presented on this gorgeous disc feature oboes and basson prominently. The Baroque versions of these instruments are notoriously difficult to play, and the members of Ensemble Marsyas (augmented for this recording by violinist Monica Huggett) acquit themselves beautifully. Strongly recommended to all early music collections.