A new musical genre sees the light of day
No organ concerto without the oratorio! Exaggerating somewhat, one could
say that Handel‘s organ concertos owe their existence to this simple
formula. What kind of justification is hidden behind this assertion? After
his physical and mental breakdown in 1737, Handel had turned almost exclusively
to the composition of oratorios. In order to be able to offer his audience
something new, the composer began to think about attractive musical extras
for the performances of his oratorios. And finally he got the idea of providing
additional improvisations on the organ. Thus a new musical genre saw the light
of day during the premiere of his oratorio Deborah on March 17, 1733, and
also during the repeat performances of Esther: the Organ Concerto was born.
"During these premieres of his oratorios, Handel for the first time delighted
his audience by playing some organ concertos, a musical genre which is his
own creation, to which he generally added an improvised fugue, a chromatic
piece or an adagio; and thus he not only demonstrated the miraculous fecundity
and versatility of his invention, but also the complete precision and tidiness
of his own performance." The great success of these innovative interludes,
as described here by Charles Burney, which at first had a mainly improvisatory
character, led to Handel regularly adding organ concertos to the performances
of his oratorios from 1735 onwards.
In total, 16 organ concertos have been handed down to us, contained in three
collections published by John Walsh. 1738 saw the publication of his Opus
4 (HWV 289-294), which had been composed during 1735/36 and consisted of six
concertos, followed two years later by a further collection of six works (this
time without an opus number). However, his Opus 7, which was composed in the
period 1740-51 and contained another six concertos, was not published until
1761. In general, the orchestral writing is for oboes, strings and basso continuo.
Formally, the organ concertos mainly follow the four-movement structure of
the Italian church sonata (slow – fast – slow – fast) in
the style of Arcangelo Corelli. Numerous movements are composed in the ritornello
form moulded by Vivaldi. The inherent style of the organ used in the works
is discreet, uncluttered and elegant, and avoids virtually all stronger development
of power. Polyphonic structures are rarely seen. Improvised solo cadenzas
are early harbingers of the classical-romantic piano concerto. This rather
generalised musical characterization is primarily due to the instrument Handel
used for the performances: a single-manual organ without pedals, built according
to an Italian example.
The six concertos belonging to Op. 4 had not been put in chronological order
for printing. Handel‘s Organ Concerto No. 1 in G minor was probably
played in public for the first time on February 19, 1736 during a performance
of Alexander‘s Feast. He presented his Organ Concertos No. 2 in B flat
and No. 3 in G minor during a performance of Esther and, finally, his Organ
Concerto No. 4 on April 1, 1735 during Athalia. Handel‘s best known
Organ Concerto (in G minor) has a dramatic and powerful first movement, followed
by an Allegro ringing with enthusiasm. The Adagio is entirely reserved for
the organ. The final Andante completes the concerto with a wealth of variations.
The Organ Concerto No. 2 in B flat, which was highly popular in his time,
begins with a concise introduction with a dotted rhythm. The second movement
is based on Handel‘s Trio Sonata Op. 2 No. 4 and presents an extensive
amount of virtuoso passage work. The minuet-like Finale gives the solo instrument
plenty of room to carry out some brilliant ‘exercises‘.
Handel‘s Concerto No. 3 in G minor does not keep to the usual form.
In the first and the third movements, he gives the organ continuo tasks (to
be improvised) to carry out, while the violin and the cello shine for a while
as soloists. The final movement is a wonderful example of the multiple uses
to which Handel put his compositions: first of all, he took this movement
from his Recorder Sonata Op. 1, No. 2 and later he used it once again in his
Organ Concerto Op. 7, No. 5.
His Organ Concerto No. 4 in F is considered to be a masterpiece in the genre.
One of the most catchy of Handel‘s melodies, the simple thematic material
consists of a 7-bar broken triad. The following Andante, characterized by
successions of dissonants, begins most unusually with an organ solo.
| Organ Concerto No.1 in G minor, Op.4 No.1 | ||
| 1 | Larghetto e staccato | 4. 54 |
| 2 | Allegro | 5. 10 |
| 3 | Adagio | 1. 24 |
| 4 | Andante | 4. 38 |
| Organ Concerto No.2 in B flat, Op.4 No.2 | ||
| 5 | A tempo ordinario e staccato | 0. 52 |
| 6 | Allegro | 4. 59 |
| 7 | Adagio e staccato | 0. 57 |
| 8 | Allegro ma non presto | 4. 31 |
Total
playing-time: 55. 09 |
||
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
||
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
||
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
||
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
||
“The two discs of Handel organ concertos offer nine of the 16 published
concertos: all six from op. 4, two from op.7 and the concerto in F, HWV 308.
Daniel Chorzempa’s readings with Schröder and the period instrument
Concerto Amsterdam were highly regarded when they were new and hold up 28
years down the road.”
---Andrew Quint, Fanfare (May/June 2003)
“Here I am treating the two volumes of the Handel Organ concertos as
if they were one recording. There is absolutely no difference between the
two recordings other than the musical selections. Recording quality is identical,
conducting consistently fine and the artist's performance also consistently
top notch. The organist is for most people the primary attraction in these
delightful organ concertos. The traditional competitors for baroque organ
playing honors are usually Simon Preston, Karl Richter and George Malcolm.
E. Power Biggs is sometimes considered but is a bit controversial, though
I did retain his performance of Handel's concertos when I downsized my collection
of LPs. If memory serves, his set used an organ formerly used by Handel. In
any event, as very ably demonstrated here, Daniel Chorzempa is easily the
equal of any the aforementioned performing artists in my not so humble opinion.”
---Karl Lozier, Enjoy the Music.com