Post by erik on Feb 4, 2023 14:46:24 GMT -5
This week's Classical Works Spotlight focuses in on one of George Frideric Handel's orchestral works that got recycled from various other works of his.
Handel: SUITE IN D MAJOR FOR TRUMPET AND STRINGS, HWV 351 (WATER PIECE)
One of the things that Baroque composers are noted for is recycling elements of earlier works into some of their later works. This was true of two of the biggest composers of that era, Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel. Much of Handel’s recycling was, as with so many other things, to maximize his ability to make a profit from his works, most of which were composed for the eccentric (and possibly insane) King George II. Not surprisingly, many of these works were very ceremonial in nature, including his famous “Water Music” collection and the Four Coronation Anthems (paramountly “Zadok The Preist”, heard at every British coronation since the 1720’s). This was reflected in the suite Handel arranged that was known as the “Water Piece” suite. The work’s overture, like the other movements in D Major, is a reconstruction for solo trumpet and strings of the famous D Major “Hornpipe” from the Water Music collection; and the fifth movement is a rearrangement of the March from the composer’s 1730 opera “Partenope”. The origins of the three movements that come between these two aren’t nearly as well known, but it is likely that they were taken from far more obscure works in Handel’s catalogue. The Water Piece was not anywhere as well known as Handel’s other works. With a movement towards more historically informed performance practices and period-instrument performances in the 20th century, however, the work was championed by severak noted ensembles and trumpet players, including Amerca’s Wynton Marsalis, and England’s own Alison Balsom (the latter of whom recorded it with Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert in 2012).
Trumpet: ALISON BALSOM
English Concert/TREVOR PINNOCK (EMI/Warner Classics)
Included (Sound The Trumpet):
Handel: SENTO LA GIOLA/FROM “AMADIGI DI GAULA”
Purcell: SUITE FROM “KING ARTHUR”
Handel: OVERTURE TO “ATALANTA”
Handel: ETERNAL SOURCE OF LIGHT DEVINE/FROM “ODE FOR THE BIRTHDAY OF QUEEN ANNE”
Purcell: SUITE FROM “THE FAIRY QUEEN”
Purcell: O LET ME EVER, EVER WEEP”/FROM “THE FAIRY QUEEN”
Handel: OBOE CONCERTO NO. 2-A IN B FLAT MAJOR, HWV 301
Handel: SUITE IN D MAJOR FOR TRUMPET AND STRINGS, HWV 351 (WATER PIECE)
One of the things that Baroque composers are noted for is recycling elements of earlier works into some of their later works. This was true of two of the biggest composers of that era, Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel. Much of Handel’s recycling was, as with so many other things, to maximize his ability to make a profit from his works, most of which were composed for the eccentric (and possibly insane) King George II. Not surprisingly, many of these works were very ceremonial in nature, including his famous “Water Music” collection and the Four Coronation Anthems (paramountly “Zadok The Preist”, heard at every British coronation since the 1720’s). This was reflected in the suite Handel arranged that was known as the “Water Piece” suite. The work’s overture, like the other movements in D Major, is a reconstruction for solo trumpet and strings of the famous D Major “Hornpipe” from the Water Music collection; and the fifth movement is a rearrangement of the March from the composer’s 1730 opera “Partenope”. The origins of the three movements that come between these two aren’t nearly as well known, but it is likely that they were taken from far more obscure works in Handel’s catalogue. The Water Piece was not anywhere as well known as Handel’s other works. With a movement towards more historically informed performance practices and period-instrument performances in the 20th century, however, the work was championed by severak noted ensembles and trumpet players, including Amerca’s Wynton Marsalis, and England’s own Alison Balsom (the latter of whom recorded it with Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert in 2012).
Trumpet: ALISON BALSOM
English Concert/TREVOR PINNOCK (EMI/Warner Classics)
Included (Sound The Trumpet):
Handel: SENTO LA GIOLA/FROM “AMADIGI DI GAULA”
Purcell: SUITE FROM “KING ARTHUR”
Handel: OVERTURE TO “ATALANTA”
Handel: ETERNAL SOURCE OF LIGHT DEVINE/FROM “ODE FOR THE BIRTHDAY OF QUEEN ANNE”
Purcell: SUITE FROM “THE FAIRY QUEEN”
Purcell: O LET ME EVER, EVER WEEP”/FROM “THE FAIRY QUEEN”
Handel: OBOE CONCERTO NO. 2-A IN B FLAT MAJOR, HWV 301