Handel - Trio Sonatas - Trevor Pinnock,The English Concert

 

Release Date: October 25, 1990 Label: Archiv Number of discs: 1 Composer: Handel Performer: Trevor Pinnock, The English Concert cd info/ buy

Review:

Handel's trio sonatas have taken a long time, a surprisingly long time considering the quality of their music, to attract the attention of the record companies. The performances here are a delight, vigorous in the quick movements, yet always light-footed and alert, and with an easy, natural rhythmic flow which keeps the contrapuntal interplay happily clear. Tempos are lively but never excessive. In the slow movements, in fact, the players occasionally seem to dawdle somewhat: the Largo of HWV393, for example, does not repay so attentively expressive an approach, and the same is probably true of that of Op. 2 No. I. Still, any error is certainly in the right direction, and the sound these players make on their period instruments (there is a flute in Op. 2 No. I; the rest are for two violins) is exceptionally clear and sweet. There is properly very little added ornamentation, and what there is sounds natural and unpremeditated, as if the players have been momentarily overtaken by sheer exuberance and throw in their extra notes as if they just couldn't help themselves. HWV393, I should mention, has to be regarded as a doubtful work—there is no dependable source for it—but this G minor Sonata has long been a favourite among violinists and Justifiably so; whoever wrote it was certainly very nearly as good a composer as Handel. Op. 5 No. 2 includes versions of some attractive ballet movements from Ariodante, Op. 5 No. 4 has music from Athalia (it makes a wonderfully dashing start to the record), and Op. 2 No. 4 shares music with Es/her and an organ concerto—the Larghetto third movement is taken quite slowly here and built up into a climax of remarkable poignancy. In this movement, and more particularly in the superb Passecaille of Op. 5 No. 4, the character of the performance seems strikingly Purcellian, a fascinating and apt reminder of one of the traditions in which Handel was working. The playing in the A major solo violin sonata however is appropriately more Corellian; the realization of the improvisatory little third movement here is particularly telling, an effective moment of contemplative expression between a pair of quick movements.--S.S.

 

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Christmas Concertos - Pinnock, The English Concert

Christmas Concertos - Pinnock, The English Concert
Concerto | Eac, flac, cue | log, cover | 1 CD, 318 MB
September 9, 1991 | Archiv | RapidShare

For people who just can't bear to listen to another Christmas carol, this is the album. Completely instrumental, this is early music written with Christmas in mind, but it is in no way recognizable as Christmas music. These little heard pieces are brilliantly conducted and performed (as always) by Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert. I heard tracks 5 & 6 on the radio a few weeks before Christmas, when my spirits were suffering an uncharacteristic low, and found myself so completely moved by the beauty them, I had to have the CD. I didn't know what the other pieces would be like, but they all turned out to be perfection. Each selection is just the right amount of colour and flourish, moving from lovely largos to vivid vivace's without ever leaving the listener reaching to turn the volume down or off. I found the entire "1 hour plus" album thoroughly uplifting and easy to get lost in. And best of all, I finally have an album that expresses musically how I feel about Christmas, that doesn't irritate anyone.--Amazon


CD Content

Vous qui désirez sans fin, noël for 2 flutes, strings & continuo, H. 531/3 (Noëls sur les instruments)
Composed by Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Performed by English Concert
with Trevor Pinnock

Noëls (6) sur les Instruments, for 2 flutes, strings & continuo, H. 534 A la venue de Noël
Composed by Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Performed by English Concert
with Trevor Pinnock

Noëls (6) sur les Instruments, for 2 flutes, strings & continuo, H. 534 Or nous dites, Marie
Composed by Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Performed by English Concert
with Trevor Pinnock

Noëls (6) sur les Instruments, for 2 flutes, strings & continuo, H. 534 Où s'en vont ces gai
Composed by Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Performed by English Concert
with Trevor Pinnock

Concerto pastorale for strings & harpsichord in G major
Composed by Johann Melchior Molter
Performed by English Concert
with Trevor Pinnock

Double Trumpet Concerto for 2 trumpets, strings & continuo in C major, RV 537
Composed by Antonio Vivaldi
Performed by English Concert
with Trevor Pinnock

Concerti Grossi (6) for orchestra, Op 5 Pastorale in G Major
Composed by Giuseppe Baldassare Sammartini
Performed by English Concert
with Trevor Pinnock

Concerto alla Polonese, for strings & continuo in G major (a.k.a "Concerto Polonois"), TWV 43:G7
Composed by Georg Philipp Telemann
Performed by English Concert
with Trevor Pinnock

Concerto a due cori No.1 in B flat major, HWV 332
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by English Concert
with Trevor Pinnock

Concerto Grosso in G minor ("Christmas Concerto"), Op. 6/8
Composed by Arcangelo Corelli
Performed by English Concert
with Trevor Pinnock

'A Grand Concert of Musick' - Avison, Arne, Boyce, Stanley, etc. - The English Concert, Pinnock

'A Grand Concert of Musick' - Avison, Arne, Boyce, Stanley, etc. - The English Concert, Pinnock
Concerto | Eac, flac, cue | log, cover | 1 CD, 317 MB
September 7, 1993 | Archiv Musik | RapidShare

This is a very nice recording dating from 1979 and 1985. Pinnock, Standage and the English Concert play with their usual energy that brings out the full potential of the works of these English composers. Of particular interest is the g-minor harpsichord concerto by Arne with definite influences of Bach's sons. Avison's concerto d'apres Scarlatti is naturally a highlight of this recording. As for the rest, they are fairly standard works, but are a cheerful and lively music as interpreted by the English Concert.
This cd is part of the Collection Argentea collection. Some of these recordings have long been out-of-print and they are difficult to find for a realistic price.

Trevor Pinnock

CD Content

John Stanley: Concerto in g-major
Thomas Arne: Concerto in g-minor for harpsichord and orchestra
William Boyce: Symphony in b-flat major
Francesco Geminiani: Concerto grosso in d-minor d'apres Corelli's Follia
Pieter Hellendaal: Concerto in E-flat major
Charles Avison: Concerto grosso no. 9 in c-major/a-minor d'apres Domenico Scarlatti

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