Handel: Concerti Grossi, Op. 3 / Sonata a 5 [Import]

George Frederick Handel (Composer), Richard Egarr (Conductor, Performer), Academy of Ancient Music (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Richard Egarr, Academy of Ancient Music
• Conductor: Richard Egarr
• Composer: George Frederick Handel
• Audio CD (February 13, 2007)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Harmonia Mundi Fr.
• ASIN: B000MG2LLS
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,575 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This new set of Handel's Op. 3 makes a superb case for these works (somewhat smaller than the more-familiar ones from Op. 6). Opus 3 is made up of assorted versions of concerti. Handel arranged and re-arranged many of these works often and so a definitive edition is probably impossible to assemble. Rather than being alarmed by the lack of similarities, we are treated to different combinations of instruments and different textures from movement to movement. Musicologists are bothered by who it was, precisely, that turned these concerti into a whole opus number. His publisher, John Walsh, claims responsibility, but did he do it with Handel's approval? We don't care. It's a delicious selection. Oboes, bassoons, and recorders are featured in the first, a solo flute brightens the third, while an organ improvisation shows up in the sixth to separate the first and last movements. Higher strings give energy to the opening of the second along with a pair of oboes, and the same combination darkens the second movement. The fourth has a prominent, propulsive harpsichord. A bonus is the composer's Sonata a 5, which is a sort of mini violin concerto. Richard Egarr is now in charge of the Academy of Ancient Music, and this, their first CD together, is remarkable on every level. The playing is terrific – energized, elegant, full of splendid details and tasteful embellishments – and the sonics are superb. The 11 string players, 7 woodwind players, and Egarr himself on organ and harpsichord, along with an archutenist and baroque guitarist, are spotlessly recorded, but with depth and warmth. This is irresistible. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Handel: Concerti Grossi, Op. 3; Sonata a 5, October 10, 2007

By 

J. D. Baker (S.F. Bay Area) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Handel: Concerti Grossi, Op. 3 / Sonata a 5 (Audio CD)

Richard Egarr's first recording with AAM, this first volume of an anticipated Handel cycle is swiftly -- and justifiably -- gathering accolades. Classics Today rated it 10/10, calling the disc a "terrific release," "superbly engineered and presented [...]. It doesn't get any better." This month, Gramophone magazine announced it as the 2007 Gramophone Award Winner in the Baroque Instrumental category, proclaiming "Egarr could not have hoped for a better way to begin his tenure." I agree. The playing is wonderful, Harmonia Mundi's recording is warm and vibrant, and Egarr's notes for the recording are a interesting and informative. For Handel fans like me, or lovers of Baroque music in general, this disc is a definite "buy."

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Handel for a New Generation of Listeners, August 1, 2007

By 

Ray "A Reader" - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Handel: Concerti Grossi, Op. 3 / Sonata a 5 (Audio CD)

Richard Egarr's new recording of Handel's Concerti Grossi opus 3 with the Academy of Ancient Music is a welcome addition to the existing catalog of Handel performances. We are told that Egarr and the AAM are in the process of be releasing additional new Handel recordings, and if this example is representative of the one's to come, we can only look forward to these with the greatest of expectations.

Handel is greatly known for his famous "Messiah," and is perhaps most revered as an outstanding oratorio writer, but to explore his orchestral works - as few of these as there may be - can be a true joy. It is rumored that Beethoven viewed Handel as the world's greatest composer, particularly being impressed with Handel's ability to do a lot musically with a very small set of instruments. While the Concerti Grossi don't necessarily fit into the description of "small" in terms of their instrumental support, Handel's creative genius bursts forth in both the opus 3 (and even more so in the magnum opus 6). To know these pieces is probably to love them, and one can find oneself endlessly despaired that Handel did not develop more of these extraordinary pieces.

The Academy of Ancient Music, along with its memorable association with Christopher Hogwood, brought the world to understand anew the meaning of "original instruments" beginning in the 1980's. Scores and scores of these works were released by Hogwood and the AAM, most to critical acclaim. There is no question that this effort revolutionized our understanding of classical music, because it helped us to understand and differentiate what we hear in today's modern orchestral "sound" from what the composers heard (and intended) when they originally wrote their pieces. One criticism of the movement, however, has been that some of these performances could sound shrill, and perhaps a touch harsh, and that if restoring the original instrument format resulted in such characteristics, perhaps we should just keep quiet and enjoy the fuller sonority and richness of the modern instrument format. Egarr's and the AAM's recent Handel entry completely dashes this concern. The music is full, rich, and not harsh. We can enjoy Handel's music in a way that Handel intended, but still have a "smooth" (for lack of a better, more technical, term) sound that is akin to the smoothest of modern instrument performances.

This is why one should look forward to the new recordings promised to come out in this series. It is an exciting thing to see this new focus on Handel's great music, and this is a disc that the Handel listener should richly enjoy. The price is quite steep, but if one considers this is the price we pay for opening up a whole new line of inquiry into the world of Handel, it really can be justified, and perhaps, encouraged. Congratulations both to Egarr and the Academy of Ancient Music for this great new Handel entry.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars exceptional, July 10, 2007

By 

jsa (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Handel: Concerti Grossi, Op. 3 / Sonata a 5 (Audio CD)

The back cover of this release announces that it's the first recording made by the Academy of Ancient Music under their new director, Richard Egarr; and that it's the first in a projected series of Handel recordings. Well, it's a triumph in every way and I look forward to the next release. The playing by the AAM is solid and energetic, but not too energetic as it sometimes could be under Andrew Manze, whose own super-virtuoso flourishes occasionally teeter on the brink of excess. The music is so fresh-sounding that it sometimes seems almost improvised, as indeed some of it is -- Richard Egarr provides his own middle movement, a tasteful interlude for solo organ, for the delightful 6th Concerto.

The sound? Full, rich and dynamic. The lavishly produced package includes interesting liner notes by Richard Egarr. What else can I add?