Thread: Baroque Recommendations... especially Handel

I began my exploration of classical music in the Baroque (The Four Seasons, the Brandenburg Concertos, Handel's Water Music and Organ Concerti, etc...) and the Baroque has remained a favorite. Like many here, however, I have constructed a collection of music that is quite extensive when it comes to Romanticism and early Modernism... but I recognized that my collection of the Classical era was virtually limited to Mozart, Haydn, Early Beethoven (and a few others) and my Baroque collection was not a whole lot better. As I am more intrigued with the Baroque I am trying to build upon that collection first. My collection of Bach is quite inclusive and considering that he is my favorite composer bar none I am well aware where I need to still plug in a few things. I have begun to expand my collection of Vivaldi... especially his operas and vocal music... but it is Handel I am especially interested in getting more of. I have a good number of his instrumental works. Of his operas and oratorios I have the Messiah, Solomon, Alcina, and Rinaldo as well as several recitals (Lieberson, Russell Oberlin, Kozena, Scholl, etc...). What would you recommend as the best opera and oratorios (and recordings) to add to this?

Beyond Bach, Vivaldi, and Handel (and Domenico Scarlatti... of whom I have a good collection of his keyboard works) what recommendations would you have for Frescobaldi, Schutz, Lully, Charpentier, Biber, Telemann, Purcell, and Rameau... all of whom I have but a single disc (or at most, 2).

I didn't add Monteverdi (who seems to be more Renaissance than Baroque... and besides which I have a good collection of him). I also left out Buxtehude who I am also in the process of building a solid collection on including his organ compositions and vocal works by Ton Koopman.

Again... any recommendations including favored recordings would be appreciated.

For Handel oratorios, it is hard to beat Alexander's Feast although it incorporates some concertos you may have heard elsewhere. I have no specific recording recommendation. I have the John Eliot Gardiner version which seems adequate.

I would also recommend Handel's 6 Concerti Grossi, op. 3. and also the Op. 6. To my ears these sound almost as complex as the Brandenburgs and hold up to repeated listenings through several decades for me. I have different ensembles of which I enjoy Tafelmusik on Sony. I do not care for the Iona Brown / I Solisti Italiani quite as much.

Handel's Oboe Concertos, especially the No. 1, have pleasant melodies that have stayed with me enough to hum in the shower. The No. 1 is rhythmically surprising as well as melodically infectious.

For Telemann you could start anywhere, but the massive Musique de Table or banquet music sets of suites and concertos is a good profile of his output. I have a lot of the Capella Istropolitana from Naxos in my collection. They are fine, but I might have preferred a better known baroque ensemble, perhaps Musica Antiqua Koln.

For Rameau I love Les Indes Galantes. I used to have the Dardanus Suite in my collection and loved it a great deal too, but have since lost that tape. I am looking for a replacement. I do not enjoy his Pieces de clavecin collections quite as much as the ballet suites above.

For Schutz the Symphoniae Sacrae, motets (20) for soloists, instruments & continuo, SWV 257-276 send goosebumps up my arms, especially the piece below. The brass opening is chilling enough in itself, but if you make it to the bass soloist, you may see what I mean. It is lovely inspiring music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB_WISixxNo

As regards Händel, I prefer a somewhat large orchestra instead
of the historically so-called "authentic" performance style of, say,
Pinnock, Hogwood or Bach Collegium Japan. This is a matter of debate
and some would recommend their style; it is a question of taste.

As regards Händel, if you haven´t got "Dixit Dominus", it is pure delight
conducted by Öhrwall on BIS, with catchy tunes only and a very fine
performance in splendid sound. It is usually coupled with a fine Gloria
performed by the always very competent Emma Kirkby. Likewise I enjoy
Max Pommers alternative readings of the 12 Concerti Grossi op.6
very much. Some might find that they lack imposing grandeur,
but they have a magical melodic and airy quality that is very special.
The sound is delicious. Should you find the Gardiner recording on
Erato of "L´Allegro, Il Penseroso ed Il Moderato", it is a surprisingly
attractive work as well, especially the first half, in a splendid performance.

As regards repertoire off-the-beaten-track, you will probably find
Jean Fery Rebel´s orchestral suite "Les Elemens" a surprise of early
avant-garde effects. And Jean-Pierre Rampal made a very charming
and captivating recording of flute concertos by Blavet, Leclair and others,
on Erato.

As regards Rameau, there´s a lot to discover. The "Grand Motets" conducted
by Herreweghe are very good, most of the Erato recordings of the vocal works
as well, like the McGegan "La Princesse de Navarre" (an ear-catching work).
He is a good conductor in such works, whereas Christie or Minkowski can be
a bit too "authentic" or small with their ensembles now and then to my taste,
though not bad. Tzimon Barto´s recording of the "piano" works are among
the most beautiful, and has a very meditative quality.

Of a slightly later generation, Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach´s works are
slowly becoming more and more appreciated. There are wonderful discoveries
among them, such as the concerti´, for instance.

It turns out that samples from the "Dixit"- and "La Princesse"-works can be found
on Youtube.

Get yourself some more Biber.

John Holloway's Unam Ceylum's a ridiculously good record.

The London Baroque collection's an excellent selection and performance of Purcell's chamber music. Fretwork's collection of his music for viols is also outstanding.

For Handel, many of our explorations of the operas, oratorios and cantatas are documented in this thread:

Link: Handel operas and cantatas



In particular, don't miss the early cantatas that Handel composed in Italy. They are really quite exquisite - you'll find recommended examples in that thread, as well as recommendations for a stupendous recording of the unmissable Acis & Galatea, and another of my very favourite favourites (already mentioned above), L'Allegro, Il Penseroso, and Il Moderato.

For non-Handelian baroque gems, you'll find some very strong recommendations in these threads, which take the box sets in their titles merely as a starting point:

Link: 200 years of music at Versailles
(Possibly the most rewarding box set I ever bought)



and also:

Link: Deutsche Harmonia Mundi box set




Finally, don't overlook Lully. This recording is superb:

Handel
Concerti grossi, opp. 3 & 6 - I have a mish-mash of recordings from Trevor Pinnock/English Concert, Andrew Manze/AAM, Richard Egarr/AAM. All are very nice.

Coronation Anthems - Trevor Pinnock/English Concert

Solomon and Saul Oratorios - Paul McCreesh/Gabrieli Consort & Players

Water Music; Music for the Royal Fireworks - Jordi Savall/Le Concert des Nations

Telemann
Tafelmusik - Harnoncourt/Concentus Musicus Wien

String Concertos - Musica Antiqua Koln

Suites - Trevor Pinnock/English Concert

Purcell
Dido and Aeneas - Trevor Pinnock/English Concert

Corelli
Concerti grossi, op. 6 - Trevor Pinnock/English Concert

Well, well, well. Let me begin by saying that the operas and oratorios, and his early Italian cantatas (almost 200 of them) display creativity in strong musical characterisation and genius in vocal compositional expressiveness not seen again until perhaps Mozart, Wagner and Verdi. Handel was a composer of the voice by vocation.

If I had to unjustly pick one Handel opera to prove the point made above, I would have to pick Giulio Cesare in Egitto (1724). The action takes place over one day with a tight plot, and has Cleopatra as a fully developed character from her first to last arias. The opera also contains some of Handel’s best arias as well as a few vocal fireworks for the historic castrato.

As much as I love this piece, I am still quite surprised I have only one version on recording in my collection. That by Rene Jacobs with Concerto Koln, various soloists with the American contralto Jennifer Larmore taking the title role. It appears to be the only HIP version that is “complete”. The recording engineers have done wonders with this: it’s a medium sized HIP band with a very big sound. Released back in the early 1990’s, I think from memory. 4CD’s, almost 3.5 hours of great music.

Other great operas that introduce Handel’s music well include: Tamerlano (1724), Rodelinda (1725), Orlando (1733) and Alcina (1735). Some Handel scholars have picked Rodelinda to be his finest.

As for his instrumental music, the opus 6 set of 12 concerti grossi, together with Bach's Brandeburg Concertos represent high points of Baroque instrumental music. He wrote all 12 pieces in one hit, in one concentrated burst of creativity, averaging about two to three days per concerto, finishing all 12 in about one month. I have two versions: The Handel & Haydn Society/Hogwood, and The English Concert/Pinnock. Recommend them all. I'm sure there are many excellent versions around too.

Some good recommendations in this thread.

I would also suggest:

the Symphoniae Sacrae and Musikalisches Exequien of Schuetz
Mondonville's Motets
Anthems, St Cecilia's Ode, Music on the Death of Queen Mary of Purcell
Anything you can obtain of Frescobaldi, Froberger, Carissimi, and Reinhard Keiser
a bit of Gabrieli also
And definitely any compositions of Monsieur de St Colombe

There are some good recommendations... I'll need to look into some of these. I just came across the Glossa editions of Handels Italian cantatas... as well works by Monteverdi and Gesualdo. They all look and sound promising. Anyone familiar with these?

I have all six volumes of the Handel Roman cantata series by La Risonanza. Yes, I enjoy them. If you are wondering which one(s) to get, then you might as well start with Volume 1!

Originally Posted by StlukesguildOhio

I just came across the Glossa editions of Handels Italian cantatas... Anyone familiar with these?

As HarpsichordConcerto seems to do, I buy new releases in that Glossa series of cantatas automatically, now. Superb. There's an extended discussion of Volume 2 in the series in the Handel thread I mentioned above (see #48, here: Handel cantatas etc.)

If you want to sample the Handel cantatas more cheaply, however, you can do so here (note this is a 2CD set), here, and here. Excellent recordings and performances at knock-down prices.

I have most of La Venexiana's Monteverdi series and I'm very happy to recommend it. Beautiful renditions.

Come to think of it, you've missed out on a very significant oratorio by Handel. His Judas Maccabaeus Oratorio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXbz1...om=PL&index=58

lots of good suggestions here.

I do love Telemans Tafelmusik. This version is excellent:

http://www.amazon.com/Telemann-Tafel.../dp/B0002IQBAS


Also Handels Music for the Royal Fireworks... and I recently picked up this version of Handels Violin Sonatas that are very nice:

http://www.amazon.com/Handel-Complet...1708578&sr=1-2


If you like this stuff... yopu should also try Arcangelo Corelli. Concerto Grossi Op. 6.

http://www.amazon.com/Corelli-Concer...1708696&sr=1-2

Yes... I have Telemann's Tafelmusik and Handel's violin sonatas performed by Manze. For whatever reason... in spite of being a fanatic of vocal music... I have far more of Handel's instrumental music than I do his operas or oratorios... to say nothing of his cantatas.