#Handel compositions full#
#Handel compositions plus#

The Newcastle-based Avison Ensemble, under the experienced direction of violinist Pavlo Beznosiuk, ranks alongside the best for musicianship, taste and style. The musicians are unanimously immersed in the intricacies of the music, but special mention must be made of violinist Pavlo Beznosiuk’s dazzling contribution to the dynamic finale of the ‘Sonata a cinque’ (a sort of violin concerto that Handel presumably composed for Corelli in Rome in about 1707). There are several fine recordings that find a little more warmth, sentimentality and intimacy in the music, although the energetic brilliance so prominent in the AAM’s crisply athletic playing has its own rewards.

#Handel compositions full#

These are for the most part lively performances full of fizzy finesse. The AAM has never committed Op 3 to disc before: under Egarr they sound as good as ever, perhaps even reinvigorated and a few degrees sparkier. All such moments come across with vitality and passion. Likewise, the immense personality of the solo organ runs during the finale of No 6 is a potently precocious display of Handel’s genius at the keyboard. It is hard to think of a lovelier moment in all of Handel’s orchestral works than the spellbinding cellos interweaving under a plaintive solo oboe in the Largo of No 2. Fresh speculation is a healthy opportunity to reconsider matters but the truly significant aspect of this recording is the new attention brought to Handel’s charming music. Richard Egarr suggests that Handel might have had more of a hand in the compilation of Op 3 than hitherto identified. This is a superb set from all concerned.Ĭoncerti grossi, Op 3. Full marks to Egarr for his choice of the 1998 Handel House Museum organ for the concertos this modern British instrument is a copy of the type of chamber organ known to Handel. The recording is highly detailed – possibly a bit too close-up for some listeners. The opportunity to hear the splendid Chaconne in G, HWV442, is highly rewarding and, as Egarr points out, it uses the same bass-line and harmonic progression as the first eight bars of Bach’s Goldberg Variations.Įgarr’s booklet-notes and a lovely collection of paintings featuring 18th-century London make for a booklet whose excellence matches that of the distinguished music-making. In the three works for solo harpsichord, Egarr’s calm, measured pacing allows Handel’s music to flow clearly and effortlessly. Throughout the two CDs, tempi are beautifully judged, with a degree of flexibility and an avoidance of excessive speeds in the fast movements.

#Handel compositions plus#

On a lighter note, listeners will enjoy all the cuckoo calls plus other birdsong motifs that crop up during the Cuckoo and the Nightingale Concerto in F. Particularly startling is the opening bitonal chord cluster of the A major Concerto, Op 7 No 2 Egarr acknowledges his debt to the 17th/18th-century writer Roger North for this daring harmonic gesture. The allegro movements are enlivened by rapid keyboard flourishes, liberal ornamentation (especially during repeats of whole sections) and delightful variants to the basic printed rhythms in the manner of French Baroque composers. Taking his cue from Charles Burney’s eyewitness accounts of Handel’s own performances, Egarr takes a bold, improvisatory approach to the concertos. The rich-sounding forces comprise 18 players, including oboes and bassoons both their playing and Egarr’s solo contributions are of an impeccably high order. Richard Egarr and the AAM have prepared their own performing edition of Handel’s Op 7 Organ Concertos, which has involved spontaneously creating ad libitum passages, or choosing other bits of Handel for the slow movements. You can listen to extracts from each of the recordings in our 'Handel: Great Recordings' playlist on Apple Music.Īcademy of Ancient Music / Richard Egarr hpd So if you want to hear Handel performance at its best, this list is the perfect place to start. See also: Exploring Handel – a special edition of the Gramophone PodcastĪll of these lists are, of course, subjective, but every recording here has received the approval of Gramophone's critics and are artistic and musical benchmarks. To find out more about subscribing to the Database, visit: .uk/subscribe.

We have included, where possible, the complete original Gramophone reviews, which are drawn from Gramophone's Reviews Database of more than 45,000 reviews. Included here are Gramophone Award-winning albums, Recordings of the Month and Editor's Choice discs from Trevor Pinnock, John Butt, Richard Egarr and Roberta Invernizzi, and many more. Welcome to Gramophone's guide to the 50 greatest Handel recordings, which you can explore along with our similar guides to the music of Mozart, Beethoven, Bach and Chopin.