If Georg Friedrich Händel's (1685 – 1759) first
published collection of concerti grossi, the 6 Concerti
grossi, Op. 3 of 1734, HWV 312-317, seems a bit
imbalanced and at times even peculiar, it is only fair
to mention that Handel himself seems to have had
nothing whatsoever to do with putting the volume
together. Indeed, it isn't at all certain that Handel
even intended the music of Op. 3 to be molded into a
series of multi-movement ensemble concertos; it seems
rather that publisher John Wals...(+)
If Georg Friedrich Händel's (1685 – 1759) first
published collection of concerti grossi, the 6 Concerti
grossi, Op. 3 of 1734, HWV 312-317, seems a bit
imbalanced and at times even peculiar, it is only fair
to mention that Handel himself seems to have had
nothing whatsoever to do with putting the volume
together. Indeed, it isn't at all certain that Handel
even intended the music of Op. 3 to be molded into a
series of multi-movement ensemble concertos; it seems
rather that publisher John Walsh, seeking to cash in on
the commercial success of Corelli's famous Opus 6
Concerti grossi, simply threw a few dozen already
existing Handel works together and, grouping them into
six "concertos," gave them the name by which they are
still known. Though the concerti grossi of Op. 3 suffer
somewhat from the ramshackle circumstances of their
birth--it is probably well, for their sakes, not to
compare them too much with Handel's other collection of
works in the form, the superb Opus 6--as a testament to
the richness of their composer's musical language, and
to the musical adaptability that has earned Handel the
nickname "The Great Chameleon," they are
unimpeachable.
The variety of design in Op. 3 is rather enjoyable.
Just one of the six concertos are cast in the usual
four movements, the other four having anything between
two and five. Only on a few occasions does Handel
(and/or Walsh) choose to set up the instrumental forces
in the traditional concerto grosso manner, i.e. a tutti
group and a contrasting, soloistic concertino group.
The concertos, however, are filled with virtuoso solo
passages for both the string and the woodwind players,
and so the spirit of the concerto grosso tradition is
intact even if the rigid delineation of performing
forces is absent.
Probably the earliest of the Op. 3 music is contained
in the very first concerto of the volume, the Concerto
grosso in B flat major/G minor, Op. 3, No. 2. The first
of its three movements is in B flat major, the last in
G minor. While such asymmetry of tonal design was by no
means unheard of, it certainly cannot be considered
standard practice for the eighteenth century. The
opening movement of the five-movement Concerto grosso
in B flat major, Op. 3, No. 2 bears a close
relationship with Handel's Brockes Passion of 1716;
unusually, a pair of dance movements--a minuet and a
gavotte--wrap the Concerto up.
The third Concerto (G major, in which the oboe is
optionally to be replaced by a flute) is again in three
movements (the opening Largo is so brief that it really
cannot be counted as a movement unto itself), while the
Concerto grosso in F major, Op. 3, No. 4 is one of the
two pieces in the opus that follow a four movement
framework. The layout of this striking work is anything
but typical of concerto grosso style, however, as the
music was lifted straight from the multi-sectioned
overture to the 1715 opera Amadigi di Gaula.
Save for the addition of an extra allegro movement at
the very end, the Concerto grosso in D minor, Op. 3,
No. 5--and for the lack of division into tutti and
concertino--follows the traditional Italian model
closest of all the Op. 3 works. The final work of the
volume, the Concerto in D major, Op. 3, No. 6, has just
two movements, and both are fast. The Vivace, whose
music is extracted from the 1723 opera Ottone, casts
the two oboes in starring roles, while in the Allegro,
taken from the overture to the 1712 opera Il pastor
fido, we are treated to a sparkling, two-sectioned
minuet.
Although originally written for Baroque Orchestra, I
created this Interpretation of the Concerto Grosso in D
Major (HWV 317 Opus 3 No. 6) for Oboe & Strings (2
Violins, Viola & Cello).
PARTITION