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 plays an organ by Goetze & Gwynn, 1998, after Richard Bridge and Thomas Parker, and an organ by Robin Jennings, 2005.
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL [1685-1759] Concerto in B flat major, op.7 no.1 · Andante (5'30) · Andante (4'00) · Largo, e piano (3'32) · Bourrée: Allegro (2'30) Concerto in A major, op.7 no.2 · Improvised Voluntary (1'07) · Ouverture - A tempo ordinario (6'35) · Organo ad libitum (2'23) · Allegro (6'30) Concerto in B flat major, op.7 no.3 · Andante (5'32) · Organo (Adagio e Fuga) ad libitum (2'31) · Spiritoso (4'19) · Menuet (A) (2'02) · Menuet (B) (1'24) Concerto in D minor, op.7 no.4 · Adagio (4'46) · Allegro (4'19) · Organo ad libitum (1'52) · Allegro (3'59)
Concerto in G minor, op.7 no.5 · Allegro ma non troppo, e staccato (3'12) · Andante larghetto, e staccato (5'19) · Menuet (1'59) · Gavotte (1'50) Concerto in B flat major, op.7 no.6 · Pomposo (3'29) · Air Lentement (3'28) · Air, a tempo ordinario (1'34) · Chaconne in F major (5'37) · Fugue in G minor (4'08) · Chaconne in G major (17'19) Concerto in F major, HWV 295, 'The Cuckoo & the Nightingale' · Larghetto (2'35) · Allegro (3'49) · Organo ad libitum (3'13) · Larghetto (3'06) · Allegro (3'25)
