Handel: Concerti Grossi, Op. 3

Handel's Concerti Grossi op. 3, here played by Berliner Barock Solisten and conductor Reinhard Goebel, may not have originally been composed as a single set, yet they still contain a wealth of invention and delights. The six concerti vary in length from two to five movements, and this recording includes both versions of no. 4: the better known one which was also part of his opera Amadigi di Gaula, and the attractive but possibly inauthentic one first published as part of the set in 1734, most likely without Handel's consent.

Featuring

Reinhard Goebel
Berliner Barock Solisten
George Frideric Handel

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Cultural Impact

Handel became a national music hero in Britain, with his works being ubiquitous and part of the 'standard repertoire,' even being portrayed as 'Orpheus Blandius' in Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens.

Compositional Technique

Handel frequently borrowed from other composers, such as Telemann, Muffat, Urio, and the Krieger brothers, and even directly copied the introduction of Vivaldi's Concerto opus 3, no. 7 in his Concerto II.

Composition History

Handel's 'Concerti Grossi Opus 3' is not a planned cycle, but a collection of works hastily compiled by London publisher John Walsh, some of which were up to twenty years old.

Compositional Technique

Handel's 'Concerti Opus 3' use the standard late Baroque orchestra of two oboes, strings, and continuo, but historical records suggest the ensemble was often larger and more polyphonic.

Cultural Impact

Handel's 'Concerti Grossi Opus 3' became an ongoing success, with numerous re-issues throughout the 18th century, and were known as 'Oboe Concerti' to distinguish them from his later Opus 6.

Critical Reception

Charles Burney, a music historian, praised Handel's Concerto 4b as 'one of the most masterly and pleasing of HANDEL's instrumental productions,' arguing Handel had more 'fire and invention' than Corelli and Geminiani.

Performer Biography

The Berliner Barock Solisten, founded in 1995 by members of the Berlin Philharmonic and early music specialists, aim to perform 17th and 18th-century music on modern instruments at the highest artistic level.