GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL
(1685-1759)

Organ Concerto No.5 in F,
Op.4 No.5
Organ Concerto No.6 in B flat,
Op.4 No.6
Organ Concerto No.11in G minor,
Op.7 No.5
Organ Concerto No.8 in A major,
Op.7 No.2
Organ Concerto No.13 in F

Daniel Chorzempa
organ

Concerto Amsterdam
Jaap Schroder

Recorded: Haarlem, Oud Katholieke Kerk, 9/1975,
The Netherlands

Producer: Wilhelm Hellweg

DSD remastered

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 Concerto No. 5 in F from Op. 4 is said to have been performed at the premieres of Athalia and Deborah on April 1, 1735 and March 26, 1735 respectively. The themes and motifs in this concerto are based on the Recorder Sonata Op. 1, No. 11. The work begins with a marvellous cantilena in the introductory Larghetto. The Allegro is particularly defined by the figurative ‘chains‘ of the organ, as the orchestra only joins in during the tutti at the beginning and the end. A powerful Presto follows the translucent Siciliano.
Handel‘s Concerto No. 6 in B flat, which has only three movements, originated as a Harp Concerto, probably written in order to illustrate the harp-playing of the Greek singer Timotheus in Alexander‘s Feast. Accordingly restrained, the first movement contains subtle echo effects. The following Larghetto strides ahead in the rhythm of a Sarabande, before conceding supremacy to the organ in the Finale.
The works from Op. 7 on this recording demonstrate that Handel laid an even greater emphasis on an improvisatory interpretation of the solo part in his later contributions to the genre, and in addition linked the movements of the individual works in an artistic manner. He began his Concerto No. 2 in A with an Ouverture with a powerfully dotted rhythm. The second movement is left to the improvisational skills of the soloist (ad libitum), before the composer calls to mind the bagpipes in the final Bourrée. Of special note in his Concerto No. 5 in G minor is the Andante larghetto, in which variations over a fundamental bass appear, in the style of Pachelbel‘s Canon. The work closes with a merry Gavotte.

“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