Handel: Salve Regina

Featuring

Leonardo García Alarcón
Julie Roset
Millenium Orchestra
George Frideric Handel

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Recording & Production

This recording was made in September 2021 at the Namur Concert Hall (Grand Manège) and was supported by the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles.

Historical Context

During Handel's time in Rome, opera performances were forbidden by a decree of Pope Innocent XI in 1677, so Handel adapted by composing secular cantatas and sacred works.

Composer Biography

George Frideric Handel's "Italian period" (1706-1710) was decisive in shaping his style and played an important role in his later move to Great Britain.

Critical Reception

The attribution of Handel's Gloria was initially dubious, but Professor Joachim Marx definitively authenticated it in 2001, despite it being known to some specialists earlier.

Cultural Impact

Korean music education manuals at the end of the last century suggested that if Bach was the father of music, Handel was its mother, due to his ability to connect with many people.

Composition History

The Salve Regina, an antiphon to the Virgin, was commissioned by Cardinal Colonna and likely premiered in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Montesanto, home of the Carmelite Order.

Compositional Technique

Handel, like many Baroque composers including Bach, frequently engaged in self-plagiarism, sometimes even borrowing material from colleagues without acknowledgement.