G. F. HANDEL

 

Organ Concertos Op. 7

 

Organ Goetze & Gwynn (1998) based on the chamber organs of Richard Bridge and Thomas Parker

(recorded with the kind permission of the Handel House Museum)

CD2, tracks 11-15: Four-stop chamber organ by Robin Jennings (2005)

Harpsichord CD2, tracks 8-9: Malcolm Greenhalgh, 2005, after a 2-manual Franco-Flemish original

CD2, track 10: Joel Katzman, Amsterdam, 1991, after Ruckers, Antwerp, 1638

 

Academy of Ancient Music / Richard Egarr (harpsichord, organs & direction)

 

Handel's last great published set of instrumental concertos arrived posthumously in 1761. Played here on a chamber organ with real-time improvisations and enlarged continuo support, these magnificent concertos (including the beloved The Cuckoo and the Nightingale) show Handel at his glorious and compositional best, and allow a concentrated view of his style from the last 20 years of his life. Richard Egarr has worked with all types of keyboards and has performed repertoire ranging from 15th Century organ intabulations, to Dussek, Schumann and Chopin on early pianos, to Berg and Peter Maxwell Davies on modern piano. He is in great demand both as soloist and as accompanist for many of today's finest artists. As a conductor, Richard Egarr has presented a wide range of repertoire - from Baroque opera and oratorio to works by 20th Century composers.

 

Harmonia Mundi 2 SACDs HMU807447-48