Handel: Concerti Grossi, op. 6

This will be a somewhat shorter and simpler review of this set from Linn than the one already posted.

Altogether this is a set to treasure.
The playing, style and conception of these performances are quite beautiful.
Handel's Opus 6 has always been recognised as a pinnacle of the musical Baroque and I've never heard it sound more worthy of that accolade.
The recorded sound too is the equal of the playing: transparent and airy but with wonderful depth and richness.
As I say: simply exquisite!

I've always felt that Handel's grotty concertos get a poor press in comparison with the Bach Brandenburgs. It's a shame, because they really are superb pieces of music. Here they receive the royal treatment. My personal favourites were the Pinnock/English Concert versions of the 1980s. I must drag them out and compare with this set. However, judged on its own merits, this is a superbly elegant set, and I enjoyed every bar of it. Definitely worth acquiring, even if you already have them.

If Handel's opus 6 is not the greatest set of baroque concertos then I'd like to know what is. The sheer brilliance and majesty of Handel's writing for me sets it apart from any other set - and I include personal favourites such as Corelli's Opus 6 and Vivaldi's Opus 3.

The set has a long and distinguished recording history, stretching from Boyd Neel and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields through to the period instrument age.

Indeed, the period instrument era has seen several excellent accounts of these works - The English Concert, Collegium Musicum 90, the Academy of Ancient Music, the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and The Handel & Haydn Society of Boston being notable examples.

So how does the Avison Ensemble measure up?

Well, let's get the negatives out of the way first - and they are few and far between.

I found the tempi in the fast movements to be, on occasion, a bit too moderate. In only one instance - the fugue of no 7 - did I find that the measured tempo was at odds with the spirit of the music. That said, the presto of number 5 is anything but, although nowhere else did I feel that the tempi employed were seriously miscalculated.

Elsewhere I did notice a curious effect. At times it seemed that the articulation of individual notes seemed to change within a phrase in the faster movements. By this I mean that occasionally a strongly-articulated note would be followed by a "smoother" note. While this didn't ruin my enjoyment at any time, it risked subtly disrupting the crisp flow of the phrase.

Against these minor, niggles, however, this is a very strong account of these concertos.

The sense of gravitas in the most of the slow movements is particularly impressive. Expansive movements such as the siciliano of no 8, the andante of number 11, the air of number 10 and the opening movement of no 2 are pretty spell-binding. When the ensemble do employ faster tempi - such in the splendid finale to no 11 - the results are magnificent.

Added to all of this is the superb recorded sound. The microphones sound a little closer-placed than many comparable recordings and the immediacy of the sound is a real bonus. I should add that the orchestral sound is beautifully captured; the higher-pitched orchestral phrases sounding particularly magnificent.

Ornamentation is sparse, but I think this set works better without elaborate gimmicks.

The approach to the continuo is interesting, with harpsichord and organ being used separately in different concertos. It is a credit to the performers that the crisp articulation is not affected by the lack of the harpsichord's spiky punctuation.

The optional oboe parts are not included - all the better in my opinion.

All in all this is a very strong account of this wonderful set of concertos. I can't really accurately grade it against the competition, as there are so many excellent accounts of these works and all have their own very subtle strengths and weaknesses. However, at a push I'd put them at the top of tree, along with The English Concert and the Academy of Ancient Music. That said, the English Concert set could do with a sweeter orchestral sound (I think Pinnock recorded them a few years too early) and the Academy of Ancient Music's thrilling set loses just the last degree of gravitas in some of the slower music. It's Hobson's choice really, but the new set is up there with the best of them.

For me, however, the benchmark set (and the one through which I first fell in love with these works) is the 1980's Phillips recording with Iona Brown and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. When will it reappear on CD?