The London Conchord Ensemble have so far made their name as recording artists mainly with discs of 20th-century chamber music, but this is their first expedition into Baroque territory. They set forth equipped with modern instruments but plenty of awareness (as most young musicians have these days) of period style, and with their well chosen tempos and clear textures they give plenty of easy enjoyment. The seemingly haphazard selection of six Bach concertos, an orchestral suite and a couple of gentle arrangements of vocal numbers, all played one-to-a-part, is presumably conditioned by their core line-up of players, a starting-point which is also clearly responsible for other decisions, namely to use a horn instead of a trumpet in the Second Brandenburg, piano instead of harpsichord in the Fifth, and flutes instead of recorders in the Second and Fourth. Conchord also eschew continuo, an omission which Bach’s robustly made music can certainly survive, if at the cost of the extra attack and rhythmic definition a harpsichord would have brought to the music’s bass-line.

The best performances come on the first disc, headed by a nicely detailed account of the Second Orchestral Suite, and followed up by sound renditions of concertos for oboe d’amore and oboe and violin. The Brandenburgs and Double Violin Concerto are less successful, however, for it is here that awareness of a slight lack of forward drive, certain slacknesses of ensemble and the odd (surely editable) untidiness becomes more nagging. Still, if you want stylish Bach orchestral music on modern instruments (or cannot abide the sound of the harpsichord), this little Bach collection could be for you.