Three pieces: a new concerto, an old friend in a (not very) different guise, and a repertory staple. The “new concerto” is a reconstruction by Francesco Zimei based on movements from three of Bach’s secular cantatas. The first is the Sinfonia from Non sa che sia dolore, BWV209. Scored for flute and strings in the original, it is in da capo form, the middle section based on the opening ritornello. This is a procedure familiar from the E major Violin Concerto, and it makes for a very credible first movement. The D major slow movement is a transcription of the first soprano aria, “Güldner Sonnen”, from Durchlaucht’ster Leopold, BWV173a, the flute taking the vocal line with occasional octave transpositions. Last of all comes the tenor aria, “Zieht euren Fuss nur nicht zurücke”, from Vereinigte Zwietracht der wechselnden Saiten, BWV207, the cantata that includes a choral version of the third movement from the first Brandenburg Concerto. In his booklet-note, Zimei sets out the reasoning behind his choice: it reads convincingly and, more important, the result sounds convincing as well.

The “old friend”, billed as a Triple Concerto, is none other than the Fifth Brandenburg Concerto in an earlier version, BWV1050a. Most of us would be hard pressed to spot the difference – minor variations of figuration, mostly in the harpsichord part, and four bars less in the third movement – with two exceptions: there’s no satisfying chord to herald the reprise in that movement, and the famous harpsichord cadenza consists of only 18 bars.

The “repertory staple” is, of course, the Second Orchestral Suite. Marcello Gatti, Michele Barchi and the single strings of Ensemble Aurora are all superb, playing with grace and style. This disc is very warmly recommended.