Organ Concerto in B flat major, Op 7 No 1 (Handel) - from CDA67291/2 - Hyperion Records

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Reviews

‘Highly recommended, not least for a glorious rendition of the Harp Concerto and the novelty of the briefest contribution of Clare College Choir in an Alleluia finale’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘The abiding impression is one of irrepressible tunefulness and joie de vivre … the instrument's special delight is the sweetness and delicacy of its flute stops … here and elsewhere Nicholson plays with zest and virtuoso flair. The Brandenburg Consort match him in style and élan, while Frances Kelly is a graceful soloist’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘The great coup of this new recording … is to have secured the instrument on which the composer played. Nicholson's playing is unfailingly stylish’ (The Times)

‘Superbly played’ (Organists' Review)

‘Paul Nicholson's performances are musical, polished and wonderfully played and enjoyable to hear’ (Cathedral Music)

‘Incandescent music-making. Mr Nicholson, the fieriest of virtuosos, makes us remember that Handel, who wrote these pieces for himself, was an organist of legendary prowess. The Brandenburg Consort's luminous strings play with particular point and charm, thanks to Mr Goodman’ (The Dallas Morning News)

Op 7 No 1 in B flat major was completed on 17 February 1740 and first performed ten days later at the premiere of L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato at Lincoln’s Inn Fields. The fugal fourth movement is taken from a movement (originally in A major) from the Concerto grosso Op 6 No 11 while the final Bourrée is based on a theme by Gottlieb Muffat whose music Handel made generous use of in his later instrumental music.

L’op.7 no1 en si bémol majeur, achevé le 17 février 1740, fut interprété pour la première fois dix jours plus tard, lors de la première de L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, à Lincoln’s Inn Fields. La fugue (quatrième mouvement) est extraite d’un mouvement (originellement en la majeur) du Concerto grosso op.6 no11, alors que la Bourrée finale repose sur un thème de Gottlieb Muffat, dont Hændel utilisa largement la musique dans ses dernières pièces instrumentales.

extrait des notes rédigées par Marc Rochester © 1997
Français: Hypérion

Opus 7 Nr. 1 in B-Dur wurde am 17. Februar 1740 vollendet und zehn Tage später bei der Premiere von L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato in Lincoln’s Inn Fields aufgeführt. Die Fuge (vierter Satz) stammt aus einem Satz (ursprünglich in A-Dur) aus dem Concerto grosso Opus 6 Nr. 11, während die Bourrée im Schlußteil auf ein Thema von Gottlieb Muffat zurückgreift, von dessen Musik Händel in seinen späten Instrumentalstücken ausgiebig Gebrauch machte.

aus dem Begleittext von Marc Rochester © 1997
Deutsch: Inge Schneider

Other albums featuring this work

Handel: L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato

Gabrieli Players, Paul McCreesh (conductor)

Studio Master: SIGCD3922CDs Download onlyStudio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

Handel's setting of Milton's sublime poetry resulted in one of his most ravishing and profound scores. This first recording of the earliest version of the work follows Handel's own performances in 1740 with the inclusion of two Concerti grossi fro ...» More

Recording details: June 1996
St Lawrence, Whitchurch, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Andrew Keener & Oliver Rivers
Engineered by Tony Faulkner
Release date: November 1997
Total duration: 15 minutes 42 seconds