Handel – Organ Concertos op.4 (Egarr) [2008]

1. Handel: Organ Concerto in G Minor, Op. 4, No. 1: I. Larghetto, e staccato	5:49
2. Handel: Organ Concerto in G Minor, Op. 4, No. 1: II. Allegro	5:38
3. Handel: Organ Concerto in G Minor, Op. 4, No. 1: III. Adagio	1:11
4. Handel: Organ Concerto in G Minor, Op. 4, No. 1: IV. Andante	3:26           play
5. Handel: Organ Concerto in B-Flat Major, Op. 4, No. 2: I. A tempo ordinario, e staccato	0:46
6. Handel: Organ Concerto in B-Flat Major, Op. 4, No. 2: II. Allegro		4:59
7. Handel: Organ Concerto in B-Flat Major, Op. 4, No. 2: III. Adagio, e staccato	0:48
8. Handel: Organ Concerto in B-Flat Major, Op. 4, No. 2: IV. Allegro, ma non presto	3:14
9. Handel: Organ Concerto in G Minor, Op. 4, No. 3: I. Adagio	3:24
10. Handel: Organ Concerto in G Minor, Op. 4, No. 3: II. Allegro	3:42
11. Handel: Organ Concerto in G Minor, Op. 4, No. 3: III. Adagio	0:54
12. Handel: Organ Concerto in G Minor, Op. 4, No. 3: IV. Allegro	2:02
13. Handel: Organ Concerto in F Major, Op. 4, No. 4: I. Allegro	4:21
14. Handel: Organ Concerto in F Major, Op. 4, No. 4: II. Andante	5:21
15. Handel: Organ Concerto in F Major, Op. 4, No. 4: III. Adagio	1:10
16. Handel: Organ Concerto in F Major, Op. 4, No. 4: IV. Allegro	3:33	    play
17. Handel: Organ Concerto in F Major, Op. 4, No. 5: I. Larghetto	2:00
18. Handel: Organ Concerto in F Major, Op. 4, No. 5: II. Allegro	2:16
19. Handel: Organ Concerto in F Major, Op. 4, No. 5: III. Alla Siciliana	1:19
20. Handel: Organ Concerto in F Major, Op. 4, No. 5: IV. Presto	2:09
21. Handel: Concerto in B-Flat Major, Op. 4, No. 6: I. Andante allegro	7:14
22. Handel: Concerto in B-Flat Major, Op. 4, No. 6: II. Larghetto	3:33
23. Handel: Concerto in B-Flat Major, Op. 4, No. 6: III. Allegro moderato	2:38

Academy of Ancient Music
Richard Egarr, organ & direction

Here is the second entry in a new series celebrating (for that is what it feels like) Handel's orchestral music as played by the superb Academy of Ancient Music, conducted from the organ by Richard Egarr. The success of the first installment, Handel's Op.3 Concerto Grossi, which won the 2007 Gramophone Award for Baroque instrumental music, was a head's up that we were in for something special. The present release confirms it. Handel composed these organ concertos in order to literally give himself something to do during performances of his oratorios such as Esther, Deborah, Athalia and Alexander's Feast. Beginning as early as 1733 and continuing for several years, Handel played his organ concerti during intervals of his staged oratorios. These performances, part of a campaign by Handel to pull out all the stops (forgive me) during the decade of the 1730s, were designed to maintain his musical relevance in an increasingly competitive London musical scene. He had already turned from opera to oratorio and now sought additional means of generating excitement amongst London's ever more demanding audiences. The first advertisements for his organ performances appeared in the London press on 5th March 1735 for a performance of Esther at Covent Garden. Much was made of Handel's organ interludes, including a fascinating comment in a music publication of 1739 extolling Handel's brilliant organ technique as perhaps the finest in the world, save for a certain Mr. Bach in Leipzig. References to Bach in the European popular press of the era are rare. Handel's technique is described as having 'amazing fullness, force and energy.' The success of these organ shows prompted the 25th September 1738 announcement in the London Daily Post that the organ concertos would be published by John Walsh from original manuscripts corrected by Handel himself.

These recordings were made utilizing that very edition. Thus we are treated to Handel's brilliant imagination for orchestral sound, instrumental color, effect and dynamics. Many of the original markings were lost or watered down over time, creating a blander amalgam that was inauthentic Handel. At last we can hear what he actually wrote. It is much more brilliant, with more instrumental color than in previous recordings. The winds are especially richer. The orchestra sounds ripely sonorous and sonically more adventurous. The organ is a mid-sized portative organ of English design with a beautifully sweet and characteristically English quality. Sweet and warm and not brilliant and powerful, as Germanic organs usually sound. This recording is my present favorite of these concertos, replacing the Trevor Pinnock set of two decades ago. Egarr's superb playing, often delicate and always tasteful, yet powerful when necessary, beautifully accompanied by the AAM, make this a clear first choice. Factor in the exemplary stereo/multichannel hybrid SACD sound, which is as lifelike as present technology allows, and this release is hard to resist. Strongly recommended. --Mike Birman

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