Bach’s arrangements of Vivaldi were not simply a tribute to the Italian master, they were his way of absorbing the Italian style. As Bach began to re-imagine the concerto as a form, that style became more and more important in his works and, with the publication of his own ‘Concerto in the Italian Manner’ in 1735, the assimilation was complete. The Italian Concerto, as it has come to be known, was acclaimed at the time of its composition and has remained one of Bach’s most popular harpsichord works ever since.

Conductor and harpsichord virtuoso Steven Devine introduces and performs this glittering work alongside Bach’s wonderful Vivaldi arrangements.

‘In Bach’s Italian Concerto one tune after another spills out. You get more tunes per square inch, buried within each other or on top of each other than anywhere else.’ Douglas Adams