Händel - Twelve Grand Concertos

Label BIS
Genres Orchestral
Composers Handel, George Frideric
Orchestras / Ensembles Arte dei Suonatori
Conductors Gester, Martin
BBC Music Magazine: outstanding; Music Web International: outstanding.

Although it was in the field of opera that Handel had first made his mark when arriving in London in the early 18th Century, the high costs of producing operas made it an uncertain one. By the 1730s Handel therefore began to explore other possibilities. It is in this context that the Concerti grossi Op. 6 may be seen. Composed during a few hectic weeks in the autumn of 1739, the set was partly intended by Handel – renowned mainly as a writer for singers and as an organist – to reinforce his stature as an instrumental composer. It would seem to have been a success: even before publication, Twelve Grand Concerto’s compos’d by Mr. Handel – as they were advertised in the press – had been sold in 122 copies to 100 subscribers, including Handel’s royal pupils, the princesses Anne, Amelia, Caroline, Mary and Louisa, as well as their brother, the Duke of Cumberland. In choosing to publish the concerti in a set of twelve, and adopting the set-up of a concertino group of two violins and one cello, contrasting with the tutti ensemble, Handel followed the tradition established by Arcangelo Corelli, whose hugely influential set of Concerti grossi Op. 6 had been published in 1714. What Handel added to the Corellian concerto was a distinctly dramatic quality – not surprisingly for the great operatic composer – as well as elements of the French-German suite tradition – in keeping with his own origins. The result is music that exhibits a great variety of musical thought and invention, here interpreted by the highly acclaimed Polish ensemble Arte dei Suonatori making their third recording for BIS. The recordings are the fruit of a regular collaboration between the ensemble and French conductor Martin Gester, focussing on the baroque concerto.
 
 
$ 22.26 USD
 

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  • Händel - Twelve Grand Concertos
    Disc 1
    Composer: Handel, George Frideric
    Concerto grosso No.1 in G major, HWV319 11:11
    1 I. A tempo giusto 01:33
    2 II. Allegro e forte 01:45
    3 III. Adagio 02:28
    4 IV. Allegro 02:29
    5 V. Allegro 02:56
    Composer: Handel, George Frideric
    Concerto grosso No.2 in F major, HWV320 11:47
    6 I. Andante larghetto 04:17
    7 II. Allegro 02:20
    8 III. Largo – Larghetto andante 02:45
    9 IV. Allegro ma non troppo 02:25
    Composer: Handel, George Frideric
    Concerto grosso No.3 in E minor, HWV321 11:30
    10 I. Larghetto 01:14
    11 II. Andante 01:56
    12 III. Allegro 02:26
    13 IV. Polonaise. Andante 04:30
    14 V. Allegro ma non troppo 01:24
    Composer: Handel, George Frideric
    Concerto grosso No.4 in A minor, HWV322 11:26
    15 I. Larghetto affettuoso 02:58
    16 II. Allegro 03:14
    17 III. Largo e piano 02:28
    18 IV. Allegro 02:46
    Composer: Handel, George Frideric
    Concerto grosso No.5 in D major, HWV323 14:47
    19 I. Ouverture. Larghetto e staccato 01:34
    20 II. Allegro 02:09
    21 III. Presto 03:24
    22 IV. Largo 02:18
    23 V. Allegro 02:30
    24 VI. Menuet. Un poco larghetto 02:52
    Disc 2
    Composer: Handel, George Frideric
    Concerto grosso No.6 in G minor, HWV324 15:15
    1 I. Largo e affettuoso 03:18
    2 II. A tempo giusto 01:43
    3 III. Musette. Larghetto 05:07
    4 IV. Allegro 03:03
    5 V. Allegro 02:04
    Composer: Handel, George Frideric
    Concerto grosso No.7 in B flat major, HWV325 13:35
    6 I. Largo 01:04
    7 II. Allegro 02:50
    8 III. Largo e piano 02:56
    9 IV. Andante 03:41
    10 V. Hornpipe 03:04
    Composer: Handel, George Frideric
    Concerto grosso No.8 in C minor, HWV326 15:05
    11 I. Allemande. Andante 06:26
    12 II. Grave 01:47
    13 III. Andante allegro 01:46
    14 IV. Adagio 01:09
    15 V. Siciliana. Andante 02:54
    16 VI. Allegro 01:03
    Composer: Handel, George Frideric
    Concerto grosso No.9 in F major, HWV327 12:34
    17 I. Largo 01:32
    18 II. Allegro 03:39
    19 III. Larghetto 02:24
    20 IV. Allegro 01:55
    21 V. Menuet 01:16
    22 VI. Gigue. Allegro 01:48
    Composer: Handel, George Frideric
    Concerto grosso No.10 in D minor, HWV328 13:48
    23 I. Ouverture – Allegro 03:45
    24 II. Air. Lentement 03:25
    25 III. Allegro 02:14
    26 IV. Allegro 02:43
    27 V. Allegro moderato 01:41
    Disc 3
    Composer: Handel, George Frideric
    Concerto grosso No.11 in A major, HWV329 16:26
    1 I. Andante larghetto e staccato 03:57
    2 II. Allegro — Largo e staccato 02:25
    3 II. Andante 04:16
    4 IV. Allegro 05:48
    Composer: Handel, George Frideric
    Concerto grosso No.12 in B minor, HWV330 11:34
    5 I. Largo 01:50
    6 II. Allegro 03:10
    7 III. Aria. Larghetto e piano 03:53
    8 IV. Largo 00:46
    9 V. Allegro 01:55