Welcome to All the Pleasures - The English Concert, Pinnock

Bach, Boyce, Haydn, Händel,
Mozart, Purcell, Scarlatti, Vivaldi
Welcome to All the Pleasures
The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Archiv 437 175-2

I am thrilled that Archiv Produktion in Canada has assembled "Welcome To All The Pleasures", and happy that it includes so many personal favorites from my discography. This celebration of choral, keyboard and orchestral music on authentic instruments is a voyage filled with delicious musical pleasures and warm personal memories, for 1993 marks my fifteenth anniversary with Archiv Produktion, and the twentieth anniversary of my founding of The English Concert. My new assosiation with Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra is providing every bit as adventurous and is filled with the pleasures of rich musical rewards. So, indeed, welcome to all the pleasures!

Trevor Pinnock

Händel: Overtures - The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock

George Frideric Händel
Overtures
The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Archiv 419 219-2

These overtures or instrumental introductions to operas, oratorios, cantatas, and anthems are a grand collection. The use of the bassoon and oboe on many of the selections balanced the violins and organ. The organ is integrated into several of the movements of these overtures in a complementary way, never become the primary focus except in the Act 1 Sinfonia for Saul in the organ solo and then later in the Second Act Sinfonia, the Wedding Symphony, where it is playful and is perfectly complimented by the more stately strings and oboes, which seemed to me to be a reversal of musical roles. The Wedding Symphony prepares the audience for the marriage of David to Michal. The overture from Alceste with surprising flourishes from the trumpet is a wise opening movement, since it is full of energy. The piece was meant to be the opening movement for a masque, usually based on a mythological or allegorical theme. The overture from Agrippina is sublime with an emphasis on the oboe and violin. The longest overture on the CD was the 5 movement overture to Il pastor fido. The 5 movements of the Il pastor fido alternate between slower tempo and dance forms. Actually the selections contain some surprises that demonstrate Handel's virtuosity and experimentation, his complexity and structural abilities.

C.B. Collins Jr., Amazon.com Customer Review

Händel: Coronation Anthems - The English Concert, Pinnock

George Frideric Händel
Coronation Anthems
Choir of Westminster Abbey, The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock, Simon Preston
Archiv 410 030-2

Not just any Coronation Anthems either.

I had not heard the LP of this recording of Handel's Coronation Anthems and so was able to approach the CD without preconception. A thrilling experience it turned out to be, too, for although I had heard Compact Discs in demonstration surroundings, such an artificial experience made much less of an impact on my ears than that of listening domestically. The recording quality of these anthems is superb. Roger Fiske enjoyed them very much and I am able to add little that is constructive to his original review.

I confess that, at first, my heart sank at the thought of having to accommodate yet another piece of 'hardware'—1 believe that is the current term for this sort of equipment—in an already well-filled home; but installation proved to be so easy, and the mechanism by which, at the slightest touch, the disc moves in and out on a tray, so childishly diverting, that I was won over in about 90 seconds. If a brief word about the performances themselves is required then I can only say that their rivals on Argo are simply not in the same league. Roger Fiske remarked on the cleanness of sound on the LP; I do hope he will have an opportunity of hearing the CD version, since everything that he noted about that is further emphasized here. Strongly recommended if and when you have the equipment.

N.A., Gramophone Magazine

Händel: Alexander's Feast - Monteverdi Choir, EBS, Gardiner

George Frideric Händel
Alexander's Feast
Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Solists, John Eliot Gardiner
Decca 475 7774

Classics Today rating: 10/10

Finally some Baroque vocal for you Rana. Enjoy!

This reissue from 1988 is a happy reminder of the good old days when John Eliot Gardiner was making some consistently terrific recordings, particularly of Baroque choral repertoire, with the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists. The conducting here (unlike many of his latest projects) is entirely without mannerism--tempos are bright but never too fast, rhythms are crisply articulated, and even the slower numbers move with their intended dramatic/emotional weight without dragging, in effective contrast with the predominant faster airs and choruses. The chorus is fabulous, soloists are first-rate, and the orchestra shows why it was among the top-tier period-instrument bands even when such groups were relatively rare and excellent ones desperately few.

Highlights include all of the airs and recits sung by soprano Donna Brown and bass Stephen Varcoe; the rousing, rich-toned horns in "Bacchus, ever fair and young", along with the engaging bass solo and its surprising melodic/harmonic twist; the precisely executed rapid string figures in the air "The princes applaud..."; and the subsequent number, "Thais led the way", one of Handel's lovlier air/chorus combinations.

Musically, this setting of Dryden's St. Cecilia Day Ode (1697) is one of Handel's more ingenious creations--the fact that this "entertainment", neither an opera nor oratorio in the strict sense, is not more often performed or recorded is odd. Not only did Handel achieve the aim to express "the power of music" in an impressive array of forms, colors, and textures, but he did it with utmost concision, typical dramatic flair, and with loads of beautiful melodies and lively orchestral music. A careful listener will notice many foreshadowings of later works such as Messiah.

This recording was made from two concert performances, and except for a few places where the balances between chorus and orchestra are weighted too much toward the instruments, the sound is absolutely fine (and it's overall slightly better than the brighter, less-detailed Sixteen recording, although that program also contains the two concertos Handel originally inserted in the middle of each of the work's two parts). Fans of Handel's choral/vocal music who have missed this unusual and indeed, very entertaining work, should snap this up without delay.

David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

Händel: Water Music - SCO, Alexander Gibson

George Frideric Händel
Water Music
The Scottisch Chamber Orchestra, Alexander Gibson
Chandos CHAN 6642

Classics Today rating: 10/10

This recording of Handel's Water Music remains one of the finest available "big band" versions using modern instruments. It also was one of Chandos' earliest digital successes, establishing the label's reputation for sonic as well as artistic excellence, and its virtues haven't diminished at all since it was first issued in 1985. It's difficult to say exactly why the music comes off sounding so fresh and lively in this peformance. Certainly, Gibson brings an unvarnished joy to his conducting that serves these suites particularly well. From the crisp rhythms of the two overtures and rollicking horns in the quicker movements (such a delightful Alla Hornpipe!) to the perfectly gauged Adagio e staccato from Suite No. 1, you get the sense that conductor and orchestra are just having a great time in music they were born to play.

Then there's the sound: warm and clear, capturing the instruments in a truly flattering acoustic space. It's simply a pleasure to listen to, never aurally fatiguing or unnaturally balanced. Hopefully Chandos will add Gibson's stunning disc of Elgar Overtures to its reissue roster; it boasts the same virtues as this recording and for my money never has been surpassed. Really super!

David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Händel: Concerti Grossi Op.6 Nos. 9-12 - TEC, Trevor Pinnock

George Frideric Händel
Concerti Grossi Op.6 Nos. 9-12
The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Archiv 410 899-2

This release of Handel's Concerti grossi, op. 6 Nos. 9-12 completes the CD issue transferred from the original three LP set. Readers will know that, apart from a small number of quibbles, I have been enthusiastic about The English Concert's performances of Handel's finest set of concertos. Trevor Pinnock and his players are fastidious in matter of detail and I find these readings well thought out, effectively phrased and very well played. The Overture of the Tenth Concerto, beautifully poised and with a nicely judged tempo, is one movement which shows off some of the strongest elements in these performances; the bustling vigour of the penultimate Allegro of the same concerto is another, whilst the captivating little D major Allegro moderato, which ends the same work, is pleasingly light-footed. There Pinnock captures the dance-like spirit of the piece with affection.

Recorded sound is clear and fairly resonant throughout, but that goes, too, for the LPs. Both versions, and indeed a third on cassette, can be warmly recommended.

Nicholas Anderson, Gramophone Magazine

Händel: Concerti Grossi Op.6 Nos. 5-8 - English Concert, Pinnock

George Frideric Händel
Concerti Grossi Op.6 Nos. 5-8
The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Archiv 410 898-2

The first four concertos of Handel's Op. 6 in The English Concert's performances have already been released on CD (410 897-2AH, 5/84). Here now are Concertos Nos. 5-8 which have been transferred from the original LPs equally satisfactorily. When I first reviewed the set I found the playing and the approach invigorating and, by and large, satisfying. I have not changed my mind since and still find it far and away the most stylish of those currently in the catalogue. Of course there are small things that one can take issue over, but they are few and far between and I doubt if many listeners will be disappointed by the high technical standards and the musicianly performances on display here. The Andante of the seventh concerto in the set is too slow for me but the Hornpipe which concludes it is bubbling over with vitality and good humour. I am a great admirer of Trevor Pinnock's Handel performances with The English Concert and these can be very warmly recommended. The recorded sound is excellent.

N.A., Gramophone Magazine

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

Händel: Water Music - Les Violons du Roy, Bernard Labadie

George Frideric Händel
Water Music
Les Violons du Roy, Bernard Labadie
ATMA ACD2 2569

Classics Today rating: 10/10

Bernard Labadie and his Les Violons du Roy have long demonstrated an affinity for Handel in their concert programs, including memorable Messiah performances and various Concerto Grosso selections. Finally we get to hear this first-class orchestra do its Handel magic on disc, in what proves to be one of the finest recorded versions of the three Water Music suites. Scintillating, snappy, and sonorous are among the more obvious descriptions of the playing and ensemble sound, but you also can't help being impressed by the group's trademark crisp, clean articulation that gives full expressive voice to every careful inflection and pointed accent, exemplified in the ravishing opening of the F major Suite No. 1.

You'll also notice how Labadie treats phrases, not as squared-off segments as in most performances, but with "rounded" endings that allow the dances to flow more dynamically, with a purposeful sense of rhythmic momentum. This is most notable--and effective--in the famous "Hornpipe" of the D major Suite No. 2, where the rapid alternating thematic sequences never sound clipped or rushed. And as for the horns(!)--these players really know how to create the robust, brazen timbre these works require (check out the third movement of the F major suite).

The strings and winds are vibrant and characterful and together perfectly capture the spirit of the dances, from an elegant minuet to a majestic overture, from a buoyant air to a bouncing bourrée. And speaking of bourrées--Labadie resists the temptation to race frantically through this movement of the F major suite, taking an effectively brisk tempo where others tend to lose perspective (and musical sense) in what often becomes a mad, silly dash to the finish.

In sum, this is exciting, virtuosic, expertly timed, eminently stylish playing, unencumbered by fussy ornamentation or conductor-imposed mannerisms. It's just great Handel, captured in gorgeous sound--and if you don't yet own a set of this infectious, timeless music (and even if you think you don't need another one), you shouldn't hesitate to add this to your collection, without delay. Outstanding!

David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

Händel: 6 Concerti Grossi Op.3 - The English Concert, Pinnock

George Frideric Händel
6 Concerti Grossi Op.3
The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Archiv 412 727-2

Handel's six Concerti grossi, Op. 3 were published by Walsh in London in 1734. Most of the material, however, had been in existence for some while before when Handel had used it as entr'acte music during performances of operas, oratorios and anthems. Only the First and Fourth Concertos appear to have been conceived as complete works; the First Concerto (alone among the six) furthermore, does not contain pieces borrowed from other works but was, as Hans Joachim Marx points out in a very helpful and interesting note, an adaptation of an earlier concerto also perhaps used as entr'acte music. Whatever their pedigree Handel's Op. 3 contains one enchanting movement after another, scored for a variety of woodwind instruments with string orchestra and, in the Sixth Concerto, an obbligato organ.

The inherent spirit of Handel's music seldom eludes Trevor Pinnock and The English Concert and it is realized here in fresh and vigorous performances. The string playing provides a warm sound and a homogeneous texture—we have come to expect nothing less—but it is the excellence of the oboe playing which calls for particular applause. Handel was second to no baroque composer that I can think of in the technically informed manner with which he wrote for this instrument and the material which he composed for it reveals his special love of it. The outstanding example in Op. 3 is, of course, the Largo of the Concerto No. 2 in B flat; there the oboe's expressive cantilena is gently accompanied by the broken-chord accompaniment of two concertante cellos. It comes off very effectively in this performance. Elsewhere it is the sheer exuberance of Pinnock's approach, his crisp attack, and the elegant poise which he brings to dance measures—Minuets in particular—which place this new version of Op. 3 ahead of any rival that I have heard. 'Sparkling' is a word which admirably sums up these performances... Warmly recommended.

Nicholas Anderson, Gramophone Magazine 3/1985

Händel: Fireworks/Water Music - Capella Istropolitana

George Frideric Händel
Fireworks Music, Water Music
Capella Istropolitana, Bohdan Warchal
Naxos 8.550109

"Some of the most enchanting parts of the Water Music come in the G major suite. Few of the dances have more than a token amount of contrapuntal thickening, as they depend on good tunes and strong cadences. Amongst the most charming is the minuet in B flat, played beautifully here by the Capella Istropolitana conducted by Warchal." BBC Radio 3

George Frideric Handel was born in Halle in 1685, the son of an elderly and distinguished barber-surgeon by his second wife, the daughter of a Lutheran pastor. He showed an early interest in music, an activity not altogether encouraged by his father, whose patron, the Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels, intervened in the boy's favour. His father died in 1697 but Handel's general and musical education continued, allowing him, four years later, to matriculate at the University of Halle, and to accept, a month afterwards, the position of organist at the Calvinist cathedral. The following year he abandoned his studies and his native town in order to embark on a career as a musician.

Handel's first employment was in the city of Hamburg. There he worked at the opera, at first as a rank-and-file second violinist and then as harpsichordist and composer, establishing his first connection with England by giving private lessons to the son of the English Resident. In Hamburg he was associated with Johann Mattheson, a musician his senior by four years, who was to claim a share in Handel's education as a composer. From Hamburg Handel travelled in 1706 to Italy, at the invitation of Prince Ferdinando de' Medici, heir to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. He was to remain there until 1710, spending time in Florence, in Venice and in Rome, absorbing more fully the Italian style that he had already attempted in opera in Hamburg, and impressing audiences with his ability as an organist and harpsichord-player.

It was through acquaintance with Baron Kielmansegge, Master of Horse to the Elector of Hanover, whom he met in Venice, and perhaps through an earlier meeting with the Elector's brother, Prince Ernst August, that Handel found himself offered the position of Kapellmeister in Hanover, an appointment followed, according to prior agreement, by immediate leave of absence for twelve months.

In moving north Handel seems to have had London in mind as a possibly rich field for musical speculation. England was under the rule of Queen Anne, the second of the daughters of the exiled Catholic King James II. The Last of the Stuarts was to be succeeded, after her death in 1714, by the elector of Hanover, who ascended the English throne as King George I. On his first visit to London Handel remained for eight months, seeing to the mounting of his new Italian opera Rinaldo, with a libretto based on an outline sketch by Aaron Hili. The following year he returned to Hanover, but after fifteen months he was back once more in London, with leave from the Elector to stay for a reasonable length of time. Handel was to settle in England for the rest of his life, whether with or without the tacit approval of his patron is not clear. He was, however, to enjoy royal partronage after the accession of George I.

In London Handel was concerned to a considerable extent with the Italian opera, a risky venture that was to undergo various changes of fortune during the following decades. Later in his career he was to turn to English oratorio, a form that, in his hands, had all the musical advantages of Italian opera, without the disadvantage of foreign language, lavish production costs or liability to native criticism on the grounds of improbability or incomprehensibility. Handel wrote music for other occasions, for the church and for the pleasure gardens, and enjoyed immense popularity and esteem, his pre-eminence serving to eclipse lesser talents. He died in 1759.

The Water Music and the Music for the Royal Fireworks mark two chronological extremes of Handel's career in London. The first was written in his earlier years in England, presumably by 1717, to entertain a royal party sailing up the Thames, while the second was commissioned to celebrate the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1749. Both occasions called for outdoor music, a form in which Handel was to demonstrate a particular skill during the years that he provided music for the gardens at Vauxhall. Popular legend has it that Handel had offended the Elector of Hanover by his prolonged absence without leave in London and that a reconciliation was brought about through the Water Music, composed to accompany the new King's journey by barge from Whitehall to Chelsea, to entertain the court during supper and to escort the royal party back again down the Thames. The story, given early currency, is now generally discounted, since no overt reconciliation with King George seems to have been necessary. It is clear, however, from a number of contemporary accounts, that Baron Kielmansegge, whose wife was reputedly the King's mistress, paid for a band of 50 musicians to play music newly commissioned from Handel to entertain the King during an evening party on the Thames on 17th July, 1717. Precisely how much of the music performed was by Handel and how much of it now preserved in the three suites known as the Water Music is not clear. It is reasonable to suppose that the collection represents much of the music played in 1717, although the order of its performance is unknown. The present recording does not divide the Water Music into the three suites that tater editors have arranged largely from a study of the principal sources and from the instruments apparently involved. The first eleven numbers, however, correspond with what has been described as a Horn Suite, because of its particular use of French horns, played by musicians from Bohemia, where horn technique far surpassed anything then known in England. The movements that correspond with the second and third suites, the former distinguished by its use of trumpets and the latter by its suggestion of indoor music for the music for the Chelsea supper with the gentler sound of recorders, are not separated, so that the complete work ends with a trumpet minuet, after the pair of country dances with recorders that here immediately precede it.

The Thames water-party of 1717 was successful enough. The Royal Fireworks of 1749, however, may have achieved musical distinction but were a pyrotechnic disaster. The fireworks display was planned for an April evening in 1749, in Hyde Park, to celebrate the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle that had ended the War of the Austrian Succession in the previous year, confirming the Empress Maria Theresia on the throne of Austria. Handel was able to offer a public rehearsal of his Royal Fireworks music at Vauxhall Gardens, a commercial venture in which he had been involved since 1732. A hundred musicians were involved, playing to an audience of more that 12,000. A week later the music was performed in Hyde Park, a prelude to the event and a possible accompaniment to the King's prior inspection of the elaborate "machine" that was the centre-piece of the display. The fireworks themselves were disappointing and during the evening the pavilion to the right of the main structure caught fire.

The Royal Fireworks Music had already succeeded admirably at Vauxhall. Handel was to add string parts to the original score, that had, by royal command, been limited to a massive band of wind instruments, and to present the work as part of a charity programme given towards the end of May in aid of Thomas Coram's Foundling Hospital, which was to benefit even more considerably from the oratoric Messiah.

The five sections of the Royal Fireworks Music open with an Overture in the usual French style, followed by a Bourrée and two pieces suggesting Peace and Rejoicing respectively. The work ends with a pair of minuets.

Capella Istropolitana
(Slovak Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra)
The Capella Istropolitana is a chamber orchestra formed by leading members of the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra in Bratislava. Founded in 1983, the chamber orchestra allows the players, many of them experienced soloists, to playas chamber musicians. Much of the work of the orchestra has been concentrated on the recording studio.

Bohdan Warchal
Bohdan Warchal was trained as a violinist at the Academy of Music and Drama in Brno. In 1957 he was appointed leader of the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra in Bratislava and in 1960 founded the Slovak Chamber Orchestra, of which he is artistic director and soloist. In 1969 he was awarded the title Artist of Merit and in 1983 that of National Artist by the government of Czechoslovakia.

Händel: Fireworks/ Water Music - The King's Consort, King

George Frideric Händel
Fireworks Music, Water Music
The King's Consort, Robert King
Helios CDH55375

On a cold January day in 1989, two dozen oboes, twelve bassoons, nine horns, nine trumpets and two giant double drums were gathered in a north London church to make what became of Hyperion’s most iconic recordings: The King’s Consort’s recreation of Handel’s Musick for the Royal Fireworks is a sonic triumph of jaw-dropping majesty, its authenticity only stopping short at burning down the venue.

Ten years later Robert King and The King’s Consort turned their attentions to the Water Music. Handel’s commission was for an enormous party on the river Thames given by George I. A large orchestra was present on the musicians' barge: a good-size string section (despite the King’s outspoken loathing of ‘violeens’) and a substantial wind presence. The sound of a large baroque wind band produces a magnificent sonority. Similarly, a colourful continuo force on the river seems probable. The rhythmic impetus of a pair of baroque guitars combined with the colours of two harpsichords lends the music a vital danceband-like rhythm section, much in keeping with the King’s colourful intentions for his evening’s entertainment!

All faithfully recreated, of course. Except for the barge.

Händel: Concerti Grossi Opus 6 - The Avison Ensemble

George Frideric Händel
Concerti Grossi Opus 6
The Avison Ensemble, Pavlo Beznosiuk
Linn CDK 362

Classics Today rating: 10/10

Handel's unrivaled masterpieces of the concerto grosso form and style--his Twelve Grand Concertos, in seven parts, for four violins, a tenor, a violoncello, with a thorough-bass for the harpsichord--here receive their finest recording to date, with performances that leave all others--both period- and modern-instrument versions--in their wake. For obvious reasons these 12 concertos have remained popular since their publication in 1740: the irresistibly congenial tunes and engaging rhythms, the free-spirited fugues, endearing Largos and Adagios, and overall vivacious writing for all instruments elicits correspondingly high-spirited responses from anyone within earshot of these unrelentingly entertaining works.

Pavlo Beznosiuk and his Avison Ensemble have left not a single Handelian note unaccounted for nor a delightful phrase unturned, and the ensemble playing is simply electrifying, crackling and sparking with the kind of head-on accents and lilting rhythmic lift that this music requires but rarely enjoys. You don't have to already know this music to appreciate (my favorite) Concerto No. 4 in A minor HWV 322, with its scintillating allegros, or the thrillingly accented opening dialog of Concerto No. 5 HWV 323, or the many beautifully drawn slow-movement melodies and catchy, clever dance movements.

We can cite individual players for their impressive effort, but when virtually everyone is performing at such a high level it doesn't seem appropriate--this is definitely a triumph of ensemble performance, where everyone is a master of the medium and the material, all of which is beautifully realized by the stunningly realistic, resoundingly vibrant sound engineering. By now you've got the picture: Essential!

David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

Händel: Water Music, Music for the Royal Fireworks - OCO

Georg Frideric Händel
Water Music, Music for the Royal Fireworks
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
DG 435 390-2

Readers acquainted with the Haydn symphonies recorded by this chamber orchestra will already know of its excellence. This new Handel disc is no exception and contains one of the few performances of the Water Music on modern instruments to jostle with the now very elderly Boyd Neel and Philomusica recordings for my affection. While on the subject of Boyd Neel, incidentally, it is now high time that Decca with its spirit of enterprise and rich back catalogue reissued that orchestra's recordings of Handel's Op. 3 and 6 Concerti grossi. They were torch-bearers for so much that has happened since and deserve better than to be consigned to oblivion.

The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra hurl themselves into the robust spirit of the music with exhilarating zeal. Their playing of the resplendent French overture to the Fireworks Music is supple and resonant, introducing a real sense of occasion which Handel most certainly intended. Sometimes I found the orchestra's tendency towards clipped articulation a little predictable but this is a very minor point in the context of so much else that is first-rate.

The Water Music is sensibly subdivided into three suites, each anchored to its own key and dominated by an instrument of a contrasting timbre: a horn for the Suite in F, a trumpet for the Suite in D and a flute for the G major Suite, the most modestly scored of the three. The performances are, as I say, full of spirit and technically highly refined. An occasional predilection for rubato sounds somewhat anachronistic as do one or two of the rallentandos at closing cadences but one can only marvel at the precision of ensemble, the clarity of articulation and the sheer joie de vivre which these players bring to Handel's music. Textures are admirably translucent and this quality in the playing is further enhanced by a sympathetic if slightly dry recording acoustic. The various woodwind groups are effectively balanced and I especially enjoyed the ensemble playing of oboes and bassoon which often feature prominently as in the concluding movement of the F major Suite. The solo flute ornaments in the G major Suite however, struck me as lacking in propriety and considerably at odds with all else in this performance.

Little more need be said. It is a great joy to hear modern instrumentalists approach baroque music in such an enlightened way.

N.A., Gramophone.net

Händel: Concerti Grossi Op.3, Sonata a 5 - AAM, Egarr

George Frideric Händel
Concerti Grossi Op.3, Sonata a 5
Academy of Ancient Music, Richard Egarr
Harmonia Mundi HMU807415

Classics Today rating: 10/10

As Richard Egarr points out in his very intelligent notes to this terrific release (in what promises to be a new Handel cycle with the AAM), the Op. 3 Concerti grossi tend to get dismissed as compared with their larger Op. 6 brethren. But that doesn't mean that Handel didn't lavish great care on their composition (or assembly), and the fact that they consist mostly of arrangements or borrowings, as we all know, means nothing where Handel is concerned as a measure of quality. One of the nicest things about these performances is that Egarr makes no effort to homogenize what remains a wildly varied selection of movement types and formal structures. Just the opposite: he presents this music as a riot of color and individualized character.

Here are some of the highlights: Egarr offers the solo flute version of the Third Concerto rather than the more standard alternative for oboe, an excellent choice that both sets off this particular work and provides a welcome contrasting timbre if you are listening continuously. The French Overture opening of Concerto No. 4 really captures that wonderful sense of ceremony that Handel managed better than just about anyone else. Egarr also offers a delightful organ improvisation as the central movement of the Sixth Concerto (surely something belongs between the two that Handel actually wrote), and throughout the set he varies the continuo extremely effectively, nowhere more so than in the strikingly sensual Largo of the Second Concerto. The lively Sonata a 5, from Handel's early days in Italy, makes a fine bonus, and the whole production is superbly engineered and presented with Harmonia Mundi's usual care for every detail of production. It doesn't get any better.

David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Händel: Music for the Royal Fireworks - Mackerras

George Frideric Händel
Music for the Royal Fireworks, Water Music Suite
Wind Ensemble, Pro Arte Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Mackerras
Testament SBT 1253

One of the most famous recordings ever made, and one of the most important, this truly legendary performance of Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks belongs in every serious record collection. The brainchild of the young Charles Mackerras--a conductor whose curiosity is exceeded only by his innate musicality--virtually every horn, trumpet, oboe, and bassoon player in London got together for a single night in April 1959, and (so the story goes) fortified with plenty of drink, let loose the musical barrage captured on this CD.

Certainly, as Mackerras himself points out, he would conduct the Overture more quickly today, and to a degree the sonics cloud over the loudest passages, but what fun this still is, and how bold and exciting it all sounds! The couplings, other Handel works largely arranged by Mackerras, also reveal his special affinity for this composer; but it's the Fireworks Music that remains the reason to get this disc. Rarely is it possible in the history of music to be able to point to a specific event and say: "There! This performance changed the way we think about a familiar piece of music." This is one of those times.

David Hurwitz, ClassicalToday.com

Händel: Water Music - Orchestra of St. Luke's, Mackerras

George Frideric Händel
Water Music
Orchestra of St. Luke's, Charles Mackerras
Telarc CD-80279

"The playing and recording are brilliant, the music breathless." -Stereo Review

The closest North American equivalent to the venerable Academy of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields is the Orchestra of St. Luke's in New York. St. Luke's fielded a string section about half the size of St. Martin's for this 1991 recording of the Water Music with Sir Charles Mackerras but managed to sound even lighter than that thanks to the dryish acoustics of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters (where the recording was made) and to Mackerras's insistence on snappy articulations. The New Yorkers play with polish and considerable idiomatic fluency, though without the gusto of the best period bands.

Ted Libbey, Amazon.com

Händel: Water Music & Fireworks - Le Concert Spirituel

George Frideric Händel
Water Music & Fireworks
Le Concert Spirituel, Hervé Niquet
Glossa GCDSA 921616

After half a century of musicological, organological and scientific investigation, the different guidelines we use for interpreting the Baroque repertoire have become very precise. If so, why are we still suspicious of the results of these investigations? It has been the intention of the hundred (!!!) musicians gathered here for the performance of the Water Music and Fireworks suites, in celebration of the 15th anniversary of Le Concert Spirituel, to put into practice, without any concessions, what they know of these early techniques, each one according to his or her field of specialization. [...] The sound is unusual in its colours and its energy; some ears, unaccostumed to meantone temperament, can expect to be surprised. But our queries and intuitions have met with bold answers, transparent and enriching, and that, without a doubt, show respect for thework. - Hervé Niquet

Five years after the initial release of Handel's Water Music and Fireworks suites in the groundbreaking version from Le Concert Spirituel, we are now issuing the original surround master in a newly-designed digipakedition. Listening to a period instrument orchestra (made up of over one hundred players) with historically-informed tuning and with the full energy and sonic details permitted by the SACD format is an experience that no lover of the best baroque music should miss...

Glossamusic.com

Händel: Water Music - The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock

George Frideric Händel
Water Music
The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Archiv 410 525-2

Whatever the circumstances were which prompted Handel to write his Water Music, it is highly unlikely that George I ever witnessed performances matching up to this one. Had I been in the monarch's shoes and heard the present version I'd have given Handel anything in the world! Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert have already given us a splendid and satisfying account of Handel's Op. 6 Concerti grossi (Archiv Produktion 2742 002, 11/82). Now they have followed it up with the sparkling performance of the three groups of movements which comprise the Water Music. Tempos are well judged and there is a truly majestic sweep to the opening F major French overture; that gets things off to a fine start but what follows is no less compelling with some notably fine woodwind playing so often the disappointing element in performances on period instruments. 1 liked the tempo or the well-known Air, which felt uncomfortably fast in the recording of the AAM on L'Oiseau-Lyre.

In the D major music it is the brass department which steals the show and in this new version horns and trumpets acquit themselves with distinction. It seems to my ears that Archiv Producktion have achieved a particularly satisfying sound in which all strands of the orchestral texture can be heard with clarity. In this suite the ceremonial atmosphere comes over particularly well with some resonant brass playing complemented with crisply articulated oboes.

The G major pieces are quite different from those in the previous groups, being lighter in tex ture and more closely dance-orientated in character. I find them amongst the most engaging in the Water Music and especially, perhaps, the two little 'country dances' the boisterous character of which Pinnock captures nicely.
This performance is, perhaps, as they say, the one we've been waiting for. Certainly it has already replaced in my affections all others known to me. The digitally-recorded sound is, as I've already said, amongst the most pleasing 1 have heard from Archiv Produktion. Strongly recommended.

N.A., Gramophone.net

Händel: Concerti Grossi, Op. 6 - AAM, Andrew Manze

George Friedrich Händel
Concerti Grossi, Op. 6
The Academy of Ancient Music, Andrew Manze
Harmonia Mundi 907228.29

The Times (London) - Classical CDs of the Year 1998A masterpiece of elegance and inventionConsidered among the finest examples of Baroque orchestral music, Handel’s Concerti Grossi, Op.6, completed in 1739 over a mere four weeks, surpass the work of other outstanding composers of the form, such as Vivaldi, Scarlatti, and Corelli. Conceived as a grand cycle rather than as individual compositions, these 12 pieces demonstrate Handel’s facility blending a variety of styles and devices with seemingly endless melodic beauty. Andrew Manze leads The Academy of Ancient Music in a vivid and vibrant performance.