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The tradition of adapting other composers’ works has been the convention in the early eighteenth century. Adopting a piece by another composer was always regarded as a sign of highest esteem for fellow composers.

As he grew older Bach practised this more and more frequently for his own works. He arranged concertos written in Köthen for other ensembles in Leipzig. He adapted Weimar cantatas to suit Leipzig conditions and transformed chamber music into orchestral music and vice versa. The diversity of Bach’s adaptations of his own works knew no limits.

This CD by the Elbipolis Baroque Orchestra of Hamburg is aligned to the tradition of Bach adaptations. Five works by Johann Sebastian Bach have been recorded in orchestral arrangements specially created by Jörg Jacobi, and also the presumed original version of the Overture in B Minor (BWV 1067) in a reconstruction by Werner Breig.