Georg Friedrich Händel: Great Organ Concerti: Organ: Instrumental Album

Here for the first time in a popularly accessible edition are 35 of his finest keyboard works for solo instruments reproduced from the monumental Deutsche Handelgesellschaft edition including eight 'Great Suites' and 'Fugue In A Minor'. For this new edition the pieces have been rearranged and retitled according to the latest scholarly sequences found in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Students and scholars will find many of the ideas Handel sketched here expanded and reworked in later chamber and orchestral works and in the opera dance movements; musicians and every Baroque music lover will see in these neglected pieces 'a Protean Fluidity' (New Grove) worthyof the great composer and more than worthy of any musical library.

In his libretto for “Riccardo Primo” Paolo Rolli drew on Antonio Lotti’s opera “Isacio tiranno” which had been performed in Venice in 1710. Handel needed a text with two great women’s roles for the two best female singers of the day were members of his troupe – Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni. He had already written the operas “Alessandro” and “Admeto” for them. He began composing “Riccardo Primo” in spring 1727 completing the first version on 16 May. However following the death of King George I on 11 June 1727 the theatres remained closed.For Handel who had become a British citizen in February 1727 the accession of George II to the throne offered new possibilities and he embarked on a revision of the opera. With this he was able to offer a new opera for the coronation festivities the hero of which was one of King George’s charismatic forebears. From May onwards Handel thoroughly revised the present score wrote some parts anew and expanded it with particularly splendid music. Handel and Rolli also improved the plot and introduced patriotic elements to honour the British monarchy. The historic background is the third crusade against Saladin the Sultan of Egypt and Syria who had recaptured Jerusalem in 1187. Although King Richard I captured Cyprus and together with French crusaders stormed the fortress of Akko in the Holy Land the crusade ended with a ceasefire and Jerusalem remained in Saladin’s hands. Richard was given the title ‘Coeur-de-lion’ by the English for his great military ability and bravery although the Sicilians had first given him this name because of his relentless cruelty in clashes around Messina . The vocal score is based on the Halle Handel Edition volume published in 2005 edited by Terence Best and contains the second version of the opera which was premiered in November 1727. Performance material available for hire. Based on the Urtext of the Halle Handel Edition. Original Italian text with German singing translation. Straightforward and easy-to-play Piano reduction.

Georg Frideric Händel?s Serse (Xerxes) has everything one would expect from a Baroque opera - many intertwining love stories affairs intrigues scheming misunderstanding and forgiving allpresented in the great master?s magnificent music.The opera is set in Persia in 480 BC and is very loosely based upon Xerxes I of Persia though there is little in either the Baroque libretto or music that is relevant tothat setting the main focus is on the characters (Serse Arsamene Amastre Romilda Atalanta Ariodate and Elviro some of which are based on real historical persons) and their plotting. The English version forthe opera in three acts was made for the English National Opera?s production first performed in 1985 on the 300th anniversary of Händel?s birth.In this edition of the Vocal score with the original Italian and thelater English lyrics accompaniment is provided by the instruments indicated in the orchestration (2 Recorders (or Flutes) 2 Oboes 2 Horns in F Trumpet in D Strings and Continuo [Harpsichord Cello Double Bass Bassoon]) butcan also be played by the Piano. Serse?s part originally sung by a castrato can be performed by a Soprano or a Countertenor.

This Palm Sunday anthem is filled with imitative counterpoint typical of George Frederic Handel. Great for church choirs but also successful with high school voices the work could be used on any festive occasion. This is a great teaching piece that will help you develop independence in all voice parts.

Mixed Bag No. 20-The highly acclaimed Mixed Bag series provides a great opportunity for woodwind players of mixed ability to play together and make a perfect recital item for young musicians who are getting used to playing withothers. Each arrangement will work with just three main parts. Part 1 is quite demanding but Parts 2 and 3 are easier. These parts can be played by just one or several players - it’s up to you! Optional ‘filler’ parts are alsoincluded for beginners. G F Handel (1685-1759) was a German-born British composer and organist who spent most of his life working in London. His Water Music was written in 1717 for George I andfirst performed from boats on the River Thames.

The Maccabaean Revolt in the second century B.C. provided the background to the story that unfolds in Judas Maccabaeus. It is part of the history of the Ptolemaic and Seleucid Empires. This oratorio follows the story from the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. up until Judas' march on Jerusalem in 164 B.C. With a libretto supplied by Thomas Morell Handel's great work was first performed at the Theatre Royal Covent Garden on April the 1st 1747 as part of his annual Lenten season of oratorios. By the time of Handel's death in 1759 Judas Maccabaeus had become the composer's second most popular oratorio having received 33 Londonperformances under the composer's supervision (Messiah had 36).For SATB soli SATB chorus and accompaniment. This version edited by Merlin Channon. Includes historical notes.

Rodelinda Regina de' Longobardi HWV 19; Opera in three acts.After Giulio Cesare and Tamerlano Rodelinda is the third masterly opera that Handel composed between December 1723 and January 1725. The words were written by Nicola Haym the author of many other Handel librettos. The first performance took place at the King’s Theatre in the Haymarket London on 13 February 1725. Rodelinda thrives entirely on the ethical supremacy of conjugal love and thus prefigures the great operas by Gluck and Beethoven on the same subject. The plot is taken from the history of the Lombard royalty. Oskar Hagen’s revival of Rodelinda in 1920 ushered in the modern Handel operamovement.The work forms the climax to a series of dramatic masterpieces that includes Handel’s most significant operas. Handel returned to Rodelinda on two occasions in December 1725 and in May 1731. Many far-reaching changes were necessary owing to the different skills of the new singers. For example Handel wrote three new arias and a duet for the first revival. Yet the changes he made for this performance doubtless to accommodate the needs and wishes of the singers also improve the work’s dramatic substance.Our vocal score is based on the Urtext of the full score published in the Halle Handel Edition (II/16) and reproduces the various alternative readings and versions in an appendix.Urtext of the Halle Handel Edition.Full score (BA4064) & vocal score (BA4064-90) available for sale.Performance material (BA4064-72) available for hire

Oratorio in three parts-In quite characteristic fashion for the times Handel’s opera “Alessandro” looks at various episodes in the life and rule of Alexander the Great (356 323 BC). This legendary warrior and military commander conquered large parts of the world before meeting an untimely end at the age of 32. A central conflict in Handel’s opera is Alessandro being in love with two women Lisaura and Rossane who compete for his favour. In addition his claim to be of divine parentage is underlined occasioning him to demand the subservience of his followers which meets with vigorous disapproval.Handel composed “Alessandro” for the Royal Academyof Music to a libretto by Paolo Antonio Rolli in the 1725/26 season. The work was premiered at the King’s Theatre in London on 5 May 1726. “Alessandro” was the first of five operas for the Royal Academy operas which saw Handel compose for three of the most famous singers of his time: Francesco Bernardi (called Senesino) Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni.Ortensio Mauro’s libretto “La superbia d’Alessandro ” which was performed for the first time in Hanover in 1690 in a musical setting by Agostino Steffani and staged again in the city the following year under the title “Il zelo di Leonato” but with numerous alterations served as the source text for Handel’s “Alessandro”. One of the main aspects Rolli had to consider when preparing the libretto for the London performances was to keep the roles of the famous singers of the Royal Academy well balanced yet at the same time to engineer a musical contest between the prima donnas Cuzzoni and Bordoni (Lisaura and Rossane) as well. From a business point of view it made good sense for such rivalry would surely increase public interest in the opera.It is no longer possible to ascertain which changes Handel made during the following performance series of the 1727/28 season. For the performance series of 1732/33 Handel made substantial revisions to the opera: six numbers were deleted in their entirety the finale in part as well and the recitatives were made much shorter with the parts of Cleone and Leonato omitted

Oratorio in three parts-Oratorio in three parts The oratorio “Athalia” tells the Old Testament story of the Queen Athalia. Handel composed it in 1733 for Oxford University where it was first performed later that year during the celebrations for the awarding of honorary degrees. The great success of this performance is generally regarded as a reason for Handel’s renewed interest in the oratorio form. As was frequently the case Handel also carried on composing this work after the first performance. Thus for the version which was performed in London in 1735 he introduced numbers in Italian for the Italian singer Carestini in the roleof Joad. He also ended the work with an organ concerto. For the performance in 1756 he drew on other works for the third act. Conversely large parts of the music to Athalia form the basis for other works by Handel such as “Parnasso in festa” (HWV 73) and the Wedding Anthem (HWV 262). The Piano reduction by Andreas Köhs (BA4082-90) based on the Urtext of the “Halle Handel” Edition includes the main version of 1733 together with an appendix containing the versions of 1735 and 1756 as well as the outline of a planned version of 1743 which was not performed. - Based on the Urtext of the “Halle Handel” Edition - Includes all versions - Detailed foreword (Ger/Eng) - Full score (BA4082) and Vocal score (BA4082-90) available for sale - Performance material (BA4082-72) available for hire