Academy of Ancient Music, Richard Egarr - Handel - Trio Sonatas Op. 2 & Op. 5
Àðòèñò: Academy of Ancient Music, Richard Egarr
Àëüáîì: Handel - Trio Sonatas Op. 2 & Op. 5, 2009
Èçäàòåëü: Harmonia Mundi / HMU 907467.68
Æàíð: Classical
Ôîðìàò ôàéëà: NetLab
Ññûëêà 1: eMule CD 1
Ññûëêà 2: eMule CD 2
Ññûëêà 3: Torrent
Íàõîæäåíèå: eDonkey/Torrent

Disc reviews Mike Birman "Audiophile Audition"
Handel studied the music of Corelli quite carefully while he was in Rome, adopting the older composer’s four-movement ‘sonata da chiesa’ structure as his model for most of his instrumental music. The Op. 2 trio sonatas were probably all composed prior to 1720 and almost all of them conform to the slow-fast-slow-fast Corellian model. The single exception is Op. 2 No. 4 in F major which adds a fifth movement adagio. The Op. 2 trio sonatas have a sunny Italianate charm and lyricism reminiscent of Handel’s beautiful Italian cantatas.

The Op. 5 sonatas were a product of Handel’s London years during which he acclimated himself to a different musical scene and to the more diffuse English musical tastes. No longer in thrall to the Italian emphasis on the vocal line, Handel immersed himself in purely instrumental music. With the nearly constant pressure for new music spurring him on, he became an expert in recycling older music in new guises. Much of the Op. 5 music was previously used but Handel’s artistic sense is unerring in creating an appropriate new context for it.

With this release Richard Egarr and the Academy of Ancient Music complete their very fine series of recordings of the Handel instrumental works having an opus number. These performances of the trio sonatas feature all of the attributes that have made the series so laudable. Their playing is always elegant, lyrical and expressive. Musical textures are transparent and clear, the soloists reveling in a nearly effortless sounding stylishness while highlighting the drama inherent in Handel’s operatic writing for the violin and flute. The stage is never far away in Handel’s instrumental music, a fact that this series has always taken to heart. It is their combination of instrumental grace and dramatic expressiveness that have made these recordings so enjoyable.

Harmonia mundi’s engineers have provided full rich sound that fills a wide sound stage. The music is reverberant but never muddy. Textures are clear and distinct, always allowing Handel’s delicate contrapuntal lines to be well-balanced and melodically expressive.

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