Händel: Concerti Grossi Op.6 Nos. 1-4 - English Concert, Pinnock

George Frideric Händel
Concerti Grossi Op.6 Nos. 1-4
The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Archiv 410 897-2

I found these performances satisfying and invigorating when I first reviewed them in these pages in 1982. I have listened to them a great many times since with increasing pleasure and admiration for the English Concert. The only newcomer to the catalogue since my original review has been a set with the Vienna Concentus Musicus directed by Nikolaus Harnoncourt. I thought those performances so eccentric and wayward that in spite of a respect for much of what they have given us in the past, it would be impossible to regard them in any sense as a serious rival to the Archiv Produktion recording. Interpretation apart, it seems to me that on this occasion orchestral ensemble, recorded sound and intonation are also preferable to Harnoncourt's customarily polished group of players. The English Concert, by contrast with the other, does not pull the rhythms around, does nothing in the way of seeking for effect by means of sensational and often inappropriate gestures, and does not introduce wind instruments to movements where Handel did not specify them and to which, strictly speaking, they do not belong. Add to all of this Pinnock's personal rapport with Handel's music, his common sense and his unfailing control of all that he sets out to achieve and you have a version of Handel's finest concertos which, I suspect, will not be superseded for quite a while.

Of course, there are some things which come off better than others. The Hornpipe which concludes the Seventh Concerto is a splendid affair and so are most of the dance movements, on account of the elegance of the phrasing and the degree of poise. Less happy, though, are moments of intonation and ensemble in the Third Concerto, notably in the second movement. In this work it is Harnoncourt, I think, who has the advantage over Pinnock with what struck my ears as being some of the finest playing in that set. Elsewhere, however, as I have already implied, it is game set and match to the English Concert and I can recommend these recordings without hesitation and without any serious grouse. Archiv Produktion has captured an effective recorded sound.

It is sensible to issue the three records piecemeal as well as in the original boxed set though it may not, in the long run, benefit the buyer financially. It seems to me that boxed sets are more susceptible to competitive pricing and 'special offers' than are single discs; but one fiver or so is certainly a more frequent occupant of my wallet than a trio of them and there is an added pleasure, furthermore, in becoming aquainted with these works gradually, rather than all at once.

Gramophone Magazine