
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.
| Organ Concerto No.5 in F, Op.4 No.5 | ||
| 1 | Larghetto | 2. 15 |
| 2 | Allegro | 2. 27 |
| 3 | Alla siciliana | 1. 37 |
| 4 | Presto | 2. 18 |
| Organ Concerto No.6 in B flat, Op.4 No.6 | ||
| 5 | Andante allegro | 5. 47 |
| 6 | Larghetto | 3. 49 |
| 7 | Allegro moderato | 2. 32 |
| Organ Concerto No.11in G minor, Op.7 No.5 | ||
| 8 | Allegro ma non troppo, e staccato | 2. 56 |
| 9 | Adagio (from Sonata Op.1 No.1B) | 1. 33 |
| 10 | Andante larghetto, e staccato | 5. 15 |
| 11 | Menuet | 2. 36 |
| Organ Concerto No.8 in A major, Op.7 No.2 | ||
| 12 | Overture | 2. 33 |
| 13 | A tempo ordinario 4. 46 | |
| 14 | Adagio (from Violin Sonata Op.1 No.3) |
0. 57 |
| 15 | Allegro | 5. 51 |
| Organ Concerto No.13 in F | ||
| 16 | Larghetto – Allegro | 5. 41 |
| 17 | Adagio (from Violin Sonata Op.1 No.14) |
1. 56 |
| 18 | Allegro (from Violin Sonata Op.1 No.14) |
1. 25 |
| 19 | Larghetto | 3. 32 |
| 20 | Allegro | 3. 09 |
Total playing-time: 63.
26 |
||
“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