Handel - Complete Violin Sonatas / Manze, Egarr [Import]

George Frideric Handel (Artist), Andrew Manze (Artist), Richard Egarr (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 9, 2001)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Harmonia Mundi Fr.
• ASIN: B00005JSK8
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #220,385 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SCHOLARS NOT PEDANTS, April 28, 2005

By 

DAVID BRYSON (Glossop Derbyshire England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Handel - Complete Violin Sonatas / Manze, Egarr (Audio CD)

Andrew Manze writes nearly as well as he plays. The short essay he provides to accompany this disc is knowledgeable, clear and witty. Handel's instrumental music is a scholars' playground - he left, and very likely kept, no proper catalogue of it, and it falls to specialists to clarify as best they can which compositions going under his name are really his. What the artists here give us is 7 complete sonatas and one that is presumably complete, plus two stranded individual movements. Of the 8 'complete' efforts 5, including the presumed-complete G major, seem to be definitely by Handel. Two sets of 12 'violin' sonatas were published by one Walsh, one under his own name and the other under the pseudonym 'Roger'. The works they contain do not exactly match up, and I would have liked the contents of each plus the contents of this disc laid out as a table so as to be completely clear about the issue. The best piece of all, placed first in this recital, seems to belong in neither edition, and the most original and unusual, placed second, is of doubtful attribution.

The players' style is all-the-way authentic. Full details of the 18th century instruments, plus a fascinating picture of the violin-maker's workshop, are provided on pages 12-13 of the booklet, and Manze goes into the question of the proper constitution of the continuo or accompaniment. I found that I adapted to the sound of the violin within seconds. There's a fair amount of action-noise from the harpsichord, but authentic is authentic, so I adapted to that too. The playing seems to me beyond criticism, full of verve in the fast movements and soul in the slow, and the recorded sound is of the highest modern standard. The works themselves are beautiful and fascinating. I wonder in particular whether Handel wrote the first movement of the F major sonata, and if not who did. It is not only an exceptional piece but decades ahead of its time, as Manze rightly says.

The production is fairly de luxe, containing not only an expensively printed booklet but also a full colour catalogue of Harmonia Mundi's current offerings. The set has won critical acclaim, which I endorse wholeheartedly, and it can be recommended without qualification to all Handelians and indeed to the music-loving public generally.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars pure, beautiful tone!, June 29, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Handel - Complete Violin Sonatas / Manze, Egarr (Audio CD)

The beauty of simplicity. Such clear, beautiful, resonant tone.
(just listen to the first four notes of the F Major!)
It takes my breath away. What a great example of what the violin CAN sound like. His ornamental/improvisational ideas are great to listen to - he certainly isn't just regurgitating the same old Handel sonatas! A refreshingly different take on the sonatas. (I for one am not interested in hearing the same old interpretation one more time!). This is unique and amazing. I'd like to hear more classical artists add their own personal touch in the way that Andrew Manze can.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars baroque and roll!, February 12, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Handel - Complete Violin Sonatas / Manze, Egarr (Audio CD)

if you've ever been put off by the "miniaturising" approach some times encountered in "authentic" performances, this is the perfect antidote. manze really lays into it where appropriate, but his tone can also fall to a whisper when required - and he's in total command of every shade between.
and don't be put off by the Edith Eisler review: his "pianist" is doing a fine job on the harpsichord!