Michael Quinn
Choir & Organ
April 2016

With its own organ (possibly built by Richard Bridge) housed in a dedicated three-storey building, London's Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens were the most popular of the capital's 60 or more private outdoor entertainment arenas for nearly two centuries. This revelatory disc mimics a typical evening's music-making during Handel's dominance of its greatest years. On a three-stop Collins chamber organ, Daniel Moult provides a fine account of the bright, bristling Organ Concerto Op 4 No 2, and a delightful—if brief—improvisation in the style of Handel and resident Vauxhall organist John Worgan. Orchestral works, the exquisite pastoral Colin and Phoebe and pieces by contemporaries Thomas Arne and John Hebden complete a superbly performed, thoroughly enjoyable disc. Excellent notes by Bridget Cunningham and David E. Coke.