Artist: Van Diemen's Band, Martin Gester

Title: Handel: 6 Concerti grossi, Op. 3

Year Of Release: 2021

Label: BIS

Genre: Classical

Quality: flac lossless

Total Time: 01:01:56

Total Size: 1.15 gb



Tracklist



01. Concerto grosso in B-Flat Major, Op. 3 No. 2, HWV 313: I. Vivace

02. Concerto grosso in B-Flat Major, Op. 3 No. 2, HWV 313: II. Largo

03. Concerto grosso in B-Flat Major, Op. 3 No. 2, HWV 313: III. Allegro

04. Concerto grosso in B-Flat Major, Op. 3 No. 2, HWV 313: IV. Tempo di minuetto

05. Concerto grosso in B-Flat Major, Op. 3 No. 2, HWV 313: V. Gavotte

06. Concerto grosso in G Major, Op. 3 No. 3, HWV 314: Ia. Largo e staccato

07. Concerto grosso in G Major, Op. 3 No. 3, HWV 314: Ib. Allegro

08. Concerto grosso in G Major, Op. 3 No. 3, HWV 314: II. Adagio

09. Concerto grosso in G Major, Op. 3 No. 3, HWV 314: III. Allegro

10. Concerto grosso in D Minor, Op. 3 No. 5, HWV 316: I. Grave

11. Concerto grosso in D Minor, Op. 3 No. 5, HWV 316: II. Allegro

12. Concerto grosso in D Minor, Op. 3 No. 5, HWV 316: III. Adagio

13. Concerto grosso in D Minor, Op. 3 No. 5, HWV 316: IV. Allegro ma non troppo

14. Concerto grosso in D Minor, Op. 3 No. 5, HWV 316: V. Allegro

15. Concerto grosso in D Major, Op. 3 No. 6, HWV 317: Ia. Vivace

16. Concerto grosso in D Major, Op. 3 No. 6, HWV 317: Ib. Adagio

17. Concerto grosso in D Major, Op. 3 No. 6, HWV 317: II. Allegro

18. Concerto grosso in F Major, Op. 3 No. 4a, HWV 315 "Orchestra": I. Andante

19. Concerto grosso in F Major, Op. 3 No. 4a, HWV 315 "Orchestra": II. Andante

20. Concerto grosso in F Major, Op. 3 No. 4a, HWV 315 "Orchestra": III. Allegro

21. Concerto grosso in F Major, Op. 3 No. 4a, HWV 315 "Orchestra": IV. Minuetto alternativo

22. Concerto grosso in B-Flat Major, Op. 3 No. 1, HWV 312: I. Allegro

23. Concerto grosso in B-Flat Major, Op. 3 No. 1, HWV 312: II. Largo

24. Concerto grosso in B-Flat Major, Op. 3 No. 1, HWV 312: III. Allegro



What we know as "Handel’s Opus 3" is most likely little more than a brazen attempt by the London publisher John Walsh to make some quick money. In 1715, Walsh had issued a pirated edition of Corelli’s 12 Concerti grossi, Op. 6 which proved an instant success and left him constantly looking for similar opportunities. Almost 20 years later, perhaps in the knowledge that the royal protection granted to Handel’s musical output was about to expire, Walsh assembled a set of six orchestral pieces for a wide range of instruments. He prefaced them with a wholly misleading title-page – based on Corelli’s style-defining collection – and advertised them as Handel’s "Opera Terza".



It is likely that Handel never took part in the selection and organization of the individual movements, although he may have been involved in the revisions made when a reprint was necessary a few years later. Selected from various sources, the six concertos certainly don’t form an organic cycle – in complete contrast to the future Op. 6 concerti grossi, which Handel carefully conceived as a set. The fact remains that Opus 3 contains some of Handel’s best-loved music, in instrumental combinations that are colorful and often unexpected – aspects that Martin Gester and his musicians in the Tasmanian period band Van Diemen’s Band make the most of.