This is Brilliant’s
second recording of the Handel organ
concertos. Their first recording, using
the Slovak Chamber Orchestra, had a
rather old-fashioned air and was not
quite complete. This new set, with the
Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, is based
on the new Barenreiter Edition of the
concerti edited by Ton Koopman. Organist,
Christian Schmitt, uses Koopman’s editorial
suggestions when performing the ad libitum
passages which can be a problem in these
works, particularly in the Opus 7 concertos.
Whilst Handel was renowned
in is lifetime as a virtuoso organist,
his art was based on improvisation and
he left no developed oeuvre of keyboard
pieces which would give us an idea of
his full capabilities as an organist.
These concertos are actually theatre
pieces, developed by Handel to support
his oratorio performances. Handel brought
in an organ to act as continuo in the
oratorio choruses and developed the
idea of an organ concerto as a way of
adding extra novelty. At the oratorios,
the audience could not rely on novelty
and virtuoso display from the latest
Italian singers so Handel’s performances
on the organ were a sort of substitute.
All of the concertos
probably started out life with a pretty
sketchy organ part, leaving Handel to
invent at will and simply control the
orchestra with a nod of the head or
an extended trill on the organ. Luckily
for us, from the 1730s, Handel started
to develop more of an interest in publishing
instrumental music as a way of disseminating
his music. He helped John Walsh with
the publication of the Opus 3 Concerti
Grossi though he did not actually prepare
them for publication. Then in 1738 Walsh
published the Opus 4 organ concerti
which Handel had prepared for publication.
The organ parts are probably only the
merest simulacrum of what he would have
performed live but they are the nearest
thing we have. More importantly, they
are from Handel’s own hand.
The concertos were
not all written specially for the occasion;
Handel was an expert at recycling material
from other sources. Concerto no. 1 was
first performed in ‘Alexander’s Feast’
in 1736. No.2 was first performed in
‘Esther’ in 1735. Its 1st
movement derives from the motet ‘Silete
Venti’ and the 2nd from the
Trio Sonata Op 2. Concerto no.3 was
first performed during ‘Esther’ in 1735
and is based on Trio Sonata Op. 2 No.
5. No.4 was first performed during ‘Athalia’
in 1735 and the 1st movement
is based on discarded chorus from ‘Alcina’.
Concerto no.5 was first performed during
‘Deborah; 1735 and was adapted from
the recorder sonata Op.1 no. 11. The
6th concerto was originally
written as the Harp concerto included
in ‘Alexander’s Feast’ performed in
1736. It was only later adapted for
organ. Here we hear it in both incarnations,
Charlotte Balzereit providing a crisp,
clear performance of the harp part.
Walsh attempted to
publish a second set of concertos in
1740 ?but Handel was too busy to work
on them and only managed to deliver
2 concertos (the concerti in F major
and A major). Walsh filled the set out
with arrangements for organ of Handel’s
concerti grossi.
The Opus 7 concertos
were not published until 1761 and were
assembled by his assistant John Christoper
Smith junior. It is here that the organist’s
ingenuity is taxed as Smith and Walsh
made no attempt to try and recreate
what Handel would have played, so that
the Opus 7 concertos are littered with
ad libitum passages.
Like the Opus 4 concertos,
these Opus 7 concertos had a many and
varied origin. Concerto no.1 was first
performed during ‘L’Allegro’ in 1740
and its 1st movement includes
an independent pedal part. The 2nd
concerto was first performed during
‘Samson’ in 1743 and the last movement
was based on rejected overture for ‘Samson’.
Concerto no. 3 was first performed in
1751 during ‘Alexander’s Feast’ and
was Handel’s last orchestral work. The
4th concerto may have been
performed during the ‘Occasional Oratorio’
in 1746 but it may have been assembled
by Smith after Handel’s death. The 5th
concerto was first performed in 1750
during ‘Theodora’ and the 6th
was assembled by Smith.
The final two concerti
have a rather vague history, appearing
in print for the first time in 1797
but we have no certain record of the
occasions for which Handel wrote them.
Handel’s organs were
not large by our standard, though Opus
7 no. 1 does call for pedals. It must
be borne in mind that his organ had
to be transported into the theatre.
This gives rise to a problem for performers
as, if the organist is to play on an
instrument similar to on Handel might
have know, then they must be accompanied
by similar scale orchestral forces.
The orchestra plays
Handel’s ritornello in a crisp, lively
fashion. Their sound is that of a modern
chamber orchestra, as it should be;
but they give the sort of period-aware
performance which is becoming reassuringly
common and they provide good stylish
accompaniment. These concertos give
few occasions for the orchestra to really
shine, but the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra
make the most of their opportunities.
I was surprised to
find a harpsichord playing continuo
in the orchestral ritornello. I have
always though of these works as concerti
grossi, with the organ providing the
concertino group. As such, it makes
sense for the organist to provide the
continuo as well and this is what usually
happens. It provides for a continuity
of sound which is lacking here.
Schmitt plays in a
rather legato style, rather than the
crisp articulation favoured by Ton Koopman
on his recording. But it does mean that
in style, organ and orchestra match
pretty well. Regarding volume and balance
between soloist and orchestra I am less
enthusiastic. His playing seems to be
rather careful and reticent; his choice
of registration is too often discreet
and leaves the balance with the orchestra
as being unsatisfactory. I can accept
that in pieces like the first movement
of the Opus 4, No. 5 concerto, Schmitt
and Matt might deliberately intend the
contrast in volume between the orchestra
and organ, but in other places Schmitt
just does not always sound like a soloist.
What I wanted was much more of a feeling
of display and bravura. If we turn to
Ton Koopman’s recording, his organ sound
no more powerful than Schmitt’s, but
Koopman chooses registrations which
make the organ solos stand out. Koopman
also manages to avoid the toy musical
box effects which afflict Schmitt’s
performance in the first movement of
the Opus 4, No.6 concerto.
I was surprised to
find that they had spread this set over
5 CDs. I would seem that it could easily
have been fitted onto fewer discs, or
perhaps we could have heard some of
the Concerto Grosso arrangements from
Walsh’s second set of concerti.
The "Six Fugues
or Voluntaries for the Organ or Harpsichord"
were written between 1711 and 1718,
the period when Handel was in Hanover
and London. Walsh published them in
1735, probably encouraged to do so by
the success of the organ concertos.
Schmitt plays 4 of the fugues at the
end of disc 5, the remaining 2 are used
as ad libitum movements in the
Concerto in F major HWV 295 and the
Concerto in D minor HWV304.
I give this set a cautious
welcome; it has the advantage of completeness
and uses the most recent edition of
the concertos. But I find myself returning
to earlier sets, such as the one by
Ton Koopman, with a great deal of pleasure.
Robert Hugill
Christian Schmitt (organ) 
