Handel Chamber Music (Complete) [Box Set]

Number of Discs: 6
Total time: 397:52
Label: Brilliant
Availability: In stock
Item #: 5668102

List Price: $107.99
Member Price: $71.88

You Save: $36.11

Review

Although best known for his operas and oratorios along with a couple of occasional orchestral works called Water Music and Fireworks Music, Handel did from time to time turn his compositional attention to the chamber music forms of the late Baroque. This six-disc set on Brilliant released in 2006 collects all Handel's works in the genre in a single, inexpensive package featuring superb performances in 1991 by the English period instrument group {L'Ecole d'Orphée}. In the flute sonatas, soloist Stephen Preston plays with the kind of warm tone and lyrical phrasing that make Handel's music sound fresh and alive. In the {

ecorder sonatas}, Philip Pickett plays with the kind of deep feeling and honest sensitivity that make Handel's music sound even better than it is. And in the violin sonatas and { rio sonatas}, John Holloway plays with the kind of irresistible energy and unabashed virtuosity that make Handel's music seem fully the equal of their best contemporary competition. With the elegant Micaela Comberti on second violin, the dulcet David Reichenberg on oboe, and the subtle Susan Sheppard on cello as well as either the equally talented John Toll, Robert Woolley, or Lucy Carolan on harpsichord, {L'Ecole d'Orphée} makes the case for the excellence of Handel's chamber music -- a case only the hard-hearted or hard-headed could dispute. Brilliant's un-remastered digital sound is crisp and clean, but a tad too distant. ~ James Leonard, All Music Guide

Read About This Recording

There is a tremendous amount of music contained in the six discs of this set. What is extraordinary is how much of it is really good music. Handel is deservedly well-known for his majestic oratorios and the fantastic orchestra suites he composed for the court of England. So it isn't surprising that the vast amount of chamber music Handel composed is often overlooked. This collection fills the gap exceedingly well.

The collection is spread out over six CDs and divided neatly into collections within the collection. The first disc contains the Flute Sonatas, which are wonderful works. Some of these sonatas are used as recital pieces, but to hear them as a collection shows Handel's versatility and melodic genius.

The other discs focus on the Violin Sonatas, the Oboe Sonatas, various sets of the Trio Sonatas and ends with the Recorder Sonatas. All of the artists give committed, well-thought-out performances that show a familiarity with and an understanding of the Baroque style.

The organization responsible for this great collection is called L'Ecole d'Orphée, an ensemble of musicians who got together in 1975 to focus on the works of the 17th and 18th centuries using instruments and performance techniques that were appropriate for that era. Although these are intimate, small-scale works, the sound is full.

—Jacob Anthony

Collections include: The Flute Sonatas; The Violin Sonatas; The Oboe Sonatas; The Trio Sonatas, Op. 2 and Op. 5; Trio Sonatas for Two Violins and Basso Continuo; The Recorder Sonatas.

L'Ecole d'Orphée.