Robert Woodcock

Robert Woodcock (bap. 9 October 1690 – 10 April 1728) was an English marine painter, musician, and composer who lived during the Baroque period. He is notable for having published the earliest known flute and English oboe concertos.

alt=Robert Woodcock – A Battle Between English and Dutch Ships.

Life Robert Woodcock was baptised at Chelsea Old Church on 9 October 1690, the son of Robert Woodcock (1642–1710) and Deborah Littleton.

In 1714, Robert junior married Ayliffe Stoaks, by whom he had several children. He resigned his government post around 1723 to become a professional artist.

The engraver George Vertue, writing in 1725, called Woodcock "An ingenious gentleman lover of the arts of painting and music, and professor."

The three flute concertos in this set are the earliest known published for that instrument, and the three oboe concertos are the first known by an English composer. This performance is noteworthy in that it shows that at least one of the recorder concertos was written earlier than the publication date. There is other evidence of performances of Woodcock's concerti from the 1720s through the 1750s, suggesting that his works quickly became part of the standard woodwind repertoire in England at that time.

There has been some controversy as to whether or not Woodcock actually wrote these twelve concertos, however. In 1954 Brian Priestman ascribed them to Jean-Baptiste Loeillet of London, and when some of the concertos were published in 1935, they were attributed to George Frideric Handel. More recent scholarship, however, supports the authorship of Robert Woodcock.

Instrumentation Source: Concerto no. 1 in E major: sixth flute, violins I and II, basso continuo Concerto no. 2 in A major: sixth flute, violins I and II, basso continuo Concerto no. 3 in D major: sixth flute, violins I and II, basso continuo Concerto no. 4 in b minor: 2 sixth flutes, violins I and II, basso continuo Concerto no. 5 in D major: 2 sixth flutes, violins I and II, viola, basso continuo Concerto no. 6 in D major: 2 sixth flutes, violins I and II, basso continuo Concerto no. 7 in b minor: transverse flute, violins I and II, basso continuo Concerto no. 8 in D major: transverse flute, violins I and II, basso continuo Concerto no. 9 in e minor: transverse flute, violins I and II, basso continuo Concerto no. 10 in e minor: oboe, violins I and II, viola, basso continuo Concerto no. 11 in c minor: oboe, violins I and II, viola, basso continuo Concerto no. 12 in E♭ major: oboe, violins I and II, basso continuo