Few composers have written as rewardingly for the oboe as Telemann so it is surprising that until now no artist has attempted to record all his concertos for oboe and oboe d'amore. Sarah Francis has set out to do just that with six works on her first disc. Five of these are for oboe with strings, the sixth for oboe d'amore and strings, one of two such pieces from Telemann's pen. Sarah Francis and her London Harpsichord Ensemble, a group founded by her flautist father, John Francis and her harpsichordist mother Millicent Silver in the 1940s, have not had an easy time holding their own against the flood-tide of period instrument performances. But they have emerged from an unsettling period during the 1980s and recently recorded the solo oboe concertos from Albinoni's Opp. 7 and 9 (Unicorn-Kanchana, 3/90). I enjoyed that disc and so looked forward to tasting the fruits of her Telemann project. By and large I have not been disappointed. Sarah Francis is a player of character and I am always taken with her rapport with dance measures, her clear articulation, her well-controlled vibrato and her ability to shape phrases gracefully. Her tone, as I have remarked before, recalls that produced by the Italian oboist Renato Zanfini, whose performances with the Virtuosi di Roma during the 1950s and 1960s were models of their kind—rhythmic, attentive to the smallest details and warmly communicative on many levels.
This disc contains three especially fine examples of Telemann's craft in the Concertos in E flat, E minor (misleadingly designated E major on the box and booklet covers) and G major (oboe d'amore). Francis plays them all with technical finesse, expressive warmth and evident affection and, on the whole, she is effectively supported by her ensemble. But I have a feeling from time to time that the demands made on her own part by Telemann deflect her from giving sufficient attention to her fellow instrumentalists. Some of the tuttis are a little wooden and, especially in slow movements, the accompaniments are inclined to plod. This I felt to be so in the slow movement of the G major Concerto. This is not the prevailing impression, though, and I am left feeling that I certainly want to hear more. Readers will be charmed by Francis's playing, I feel sure, just as they should be beguiled by Telemann's complete understanding of the instrument for which he is writing. Recorded sound is excellent. Congratulations to Unicorn for taking on the project. Recommended.'