In the eighteenth century,
money was to be made in publishing by
producing chamber music suitable for
the home market. A volume of sonatas
by Handel would thus give access to
his music for all those people who were
unable to attend performances but nonetheless
would enjoy playing his music at home.
Handel’s Opus 1 was an attempt by John
Walsh to cash in on the market. Published
in the 1730s this was a period when
Handel began to realise the benefits
from publishing such works and he would
eventually collaborate with Walsh on
a number of publishing ventures; however
the Opus 1 is purely a pirate issue.
In fact, Handel probably chose Walsh
as his official publisher mainly because
he was the most successful pirate.
The Opus 1 sonatas
contain a mixture of sonatas for various
instruments, some of which might not
even be by Handel. The disc of flute
sonatas contains the four flute sonatas
from Opus 1 along with the three Halle
sonatas and another flute sonata which
was discovered in the 1980s, so the
disc has all of the known flute sonatas.
The so-called Halle sonatas were called
this by Chrysander because he thought
they were early sonatas. In fact, they
might not be by Handel at all, but they
are fine music nonetheless. Handel would
not have expected to hear all of these
sonatas played continuously and might
even have expected some of them to be
played on another instrument, but Stephen
Preston plays them infectiously and
beautifully.
The second disc mixes
the Violin sonatas and the Oboe sonatas.
This has the advantage of giving us
a more variety of timbre when listening
to these discs complete. John Holloway’s
tone on the violin is apt to be a little
on the dry side, but David Reichenberg
produces a wonderfully mellifluous oboe
tone. These are all charming works and
Handel’s melodic felicity shines through.
Not knowing the exact provenance of
the music can be frustrating as it would
be interesting to know more about the
dates when the works were composed.
As it is, it is pleasant to hear material
which is better known in another context
(such as an aria) played in its instrumental
form.
The third disc contains
the Opus 2 trio sonatas. These were
published by Walsh in 1733. Some movements
contain borrowings from the oratorios
(Athalia and Esther), but number 2 (in
G minor) may be Handel’s earliest datable
composition. And the fourth disc contains
the Opus 5 trio sonatas. These were
published by Walsh in 1739, by which
time Handel was taking more of a pro-active
interest in the publishing enterprise;
he had edited the Opus 4 Organ concerti
for publication. Though the trio sonatas
contain music from other works (the
Canons anthems, operas from 1734-1735
and Athalia), Handel also wrote new
music for these works. Both these two
discs are the highlight of this group;
the trio sonatas are beautifully played
by the members of L’Ecole d’Orfée.
In the Opus 5 trio sonatas, John Holloway
and Micaela Comberti are well matched
and play this delightful music infectiously.
For the Opus 2 trio sonatas they are
joined by Stephen Preston’s flute and
Philip Pickett’s recorder. The fifth
disc further trio sonatas played by
John Holloway, Micaela Comberti and
Alison Bury; unfortunately here a hint
of steeliness creeps in to the violin
tone. On the final disc, Philip Pickett
and Rachel Beckett play the recorder
sonatas. Though Pickett plays brilliantly,
by the end of the disc I had the unworthy
thought that a whole CD of recorder
sonatas, even by Handel, was a little
bit too much recorder all in one go,
but it makes an excellent disc to dip
into – as do they all. This is not concert
hall music; it was written (or arranged)
for people to play at home. On this
recording you get a real feeling of
a group of friends interacting with
each other and enjoying themselves.
I cannot recommend
this set too highly. At super budget
price the discs are recommendable both
to dedicated Handelians and to everyone
else. The discs are available separately
or as part of the 40 disc Handel Masterworks
set. I would advise everyone to buy
them. The only fly in the ointment is
that Brilliant have issued the discs
with no supporting documentation whereas
they have also been issued by Regis
as a 6 CD set along with some informative
notes.
Robert Hugill