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Handel – Concerti Grossi Op. 6 – part 1

Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin, Bernhard Forck

17,9934,49
(2 press reviews)
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Original Recording Format: DXD
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Here is the link to Handel Concerti Grossi – Part Two at the NativeDSD Music Store. This music is also available as part of this bundle.

Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin kickstarts their Handel trilogy with this recording of the first six concerti grossi op. 6. Originally designed as attractive interludes to English oratorio performances, Handel’s concerti grossi soon gained fame as the most appealing orchestral music of the baroque era. Written in London in 1739, towards the end of his career, Handel paid tribute to the immensely popular concerti grossi of Corelli while simultaneously proving his mastery incorporating all musical styles of his time. Led by their concertmaster Bernhard Forck, the players of the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin demonstrate why many consider them the best baroque ensemble of today. This first installment will be followed by the last six concerti grossi op. 6, as well as a recording of the concerti grossi op. 3.

Handel wrote the first six Concerti Grossi published as op. 6 in just over two weeks, from September 29 to October 15, 1739 (the final six were completed before Hallowe’en). You can hear the rush of inspiration in these works in a way that few pieces of music can match. I think of Mozart’s piano concertos from the spring of 1785, and Schubert’s composition of Winterreise in February and October of 1827. Handel’s orchestral music sounds robust when it’s played like this, but I’ve heard more than a few versions of both op. 3 and op. 6 that were crippled by poor musical choices or stylistic axe-grinding, on both sides of the Historically Informed Practices divide. Bernhard Forck and his very fine Berlin musicians, supported by Pentatone’s fine engineers, let Handel’s inspiration flow unimpeded.

Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
Bernhard Forck, Concertmaster

Tracklist

Please note that the below previews are loaded as 44.1 kHz / 16 bit.
1.
Concerto grosso in G Major, Op. 6 No. 1, HWV 319 - I. A tempo giusto
01:44
2.
Concerto grosso in G Major, Op. 6 No. 1, HWV 319 - II. Allegro
01:42
3.
Concerto grosso in G Major, Op. 6 No. 1, HWV 319 - III. Adagio
02:27
4.
Concerto grosso in G Major, Op. 6 No. 1, HWV 319 - IV. Allegro
02:28
5.
Concerto grosso in G Major, Op. 6 No. 1, HWV 319 - V. Allegro
02:56
6.
Concerto grosso in F Major, Op. 6 No. 2, HWV 320 - I. Andante larghetto
03:43
7.
Concerto grosso in F Major, Op. 6 No. 2, HWV 320 - II. Allegro
02:34
8.
Concerto grosso in F Major, Op. 6 No. 2, HWV 320 - III. Largo
02:17
9.
Concerto grosso in F Major, Op. 6 No. 2, HWV 320 - IV. Allegro, ma non troppo
02:19
10.
Concerto grosso in E Minor, Op. 6 No. 3, HWV 321 - I. Larghetto
01:22
11.
Concerto grosso in E Minor, Op. 6 No. 3, HWV 321 - II. Andante
01:32
12.
Concerto grosso in E Minor, Op. 6 No. 3, HWV 321 - III. Allegro
02:27
13.
Concerto grosso in E Minor, Op. 6 No. 3, HWV 321 - IV. Polonaise. Andante
03:45
14.
Concerto grosso in E Minor, Op. 6 No. 3, HWV 321 - V. Allegro, ma non troppo
01:33
15.
Concerto grosso in A Minor, Op. 6 No. 4, HWV 322 - I. Larghetto affetuoso
02:37
16.
Concerto grosso in A Minor, Op. 6 No. 4, HWV 322 - II. Allegro
02:49
17.
Concerto grosso in A Minor, Op. 6 No. 4, HWV 322 - III. Largo e piano
02:11
18.
Concerto grosso in A Minor, Op. 6 No. 4, HWV 322 - IV. Allegro
02:40
19.
Concerto grosso in D Major, Op. 6 No. 5, HWV 323 - I. Larghetto e staccato
01:48
20.
Concerto grosso in D Major, Op. 6 No. 5, HWV 323 - II. Allegro
02:08
21.
Concerto grosso in D Major, Op. 6 No. 5, HWV 323 - III. Presto
03:44
22.
Concerto grosso in D Major, Op. 6 No. 5, HWV 323 - IV. Largo
02:08
23.
Concerto grosso in D Major, Op. 6 No. 5, HWV 323 - V. Allegro
02:30
24.
Concerto grosso in D Major, Op. 6 No. 5, HWV 323 - VI. Menuet. Un poco larghetto
02:44
25.
Concerto grosso in G Minor, Op. 6 No. 6, HWV 324 - I. Largo affettuoso
03:03
26.
Concerto grosso in G Minor, Op. 6 No. 6, HWV 324 - II. A tempo giusto
01:40
27.
Concerto grosso in G Minor, Op. 6 No. 6, HWV 324 - III. Musette. Larghetto
04:37
28.
Concerto grosso in G Minor, Op. 6 No. 6, HWV 324 - IV. Allegro
02:54
29.
Concerto grosso in G Minor, Op. 6 No. 6, HWV 324 - V. Allegro
02:17

Total time: 01:12:39

Additional information

Label

SKU

PTC5186737

Qualities

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Channels

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Artists

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Composers

Genres

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Financial Support

Freunde und Förderer der Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin e.V.

Notes

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Original Recording Format

Producer

Karel Bruggeman

Recording Engineer

Jean-Marie Geijsen

Recording Location

Nikodemuskirche, Berlin, in September 2018 and February 2019

Recording Type & Bit Rate

DXD

Release DateJuly 18, 2019

Press reviews

Classics Today 5 out of 5

This presentation of the first six of Handel’s Op. 6 concerti grossi is vibrant, uninhibited, almost aggressive in some cases, but always thoroughly centered in the context of the score, celebrating the catchy melodies and reveling in the pulsing rhythms, ultimately delivering a consummately entertaining and justly realized interpretation of these oft-performed and recorded concertos.

Yes, these popular pieces have been superbly recorded before, but a new traversal, especially one as technically accomplished and musically impressive as this one, is certainly welcome. The works’ theatricality and clever, skillful compositional characteristics come to life in this orchestra’s vivid realizations.

Whether you know or have never before heard these seminal 18th-century concertos, you will be rewarded by hearing one of the world’s finest baroque bands deliver its best, well-considered readings–articulate, fast-moving, and stylish, exemplified in instances such as the lively, buoyant Allegro of the A minor concerto HWV 322.

The sound, from the Nikodemuskirche, Berlin, is excellent, adding to the confirmed distinction of this well-managed, competently presented project.

Gramophone

Akamus gives us a thrilling set of Handel’s Op 6 Concerto Grossi, supremely inventive music given sparkling performances.

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