Handel - Organ Concertos op. 7 - Richard Egarr, Academy of Ancient Music - Harmonia Mundi  HMU 807447.48 (2009)
2xSACD rip via PS3 to 2x iso (6.21GB) | 24bit/88.2kHz flac | Mch (2.49 & 2.57GB) (+6dB gain) | 2ch (1.04 & 1.08GB) DR12 (+6dB gain) | Classical


Handel's last great published set of instrumental concertos arrived posthumously in 1761. Played here on a chamber organ with real-time improvisations & enlarged continuo support, these magnificent concertos (including the beloved 'The Cuckoo & the Nightingale') show Handel at his glorious & compositional best, & allow a concentrated view of his style from the last 20 years of his life. 
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SA-CD.net review by JJ December 9, 2009:
For Handel, the organ was not 1 of his most favorite instruments, for as rightly underlines Michel Roubinet, “Besides the 4 concertos for organ & orchestra, he only composed specifically for the organ just 1 group of 6 fugues: that is very little for a composer who was particularly prolific & had had a solid education as an organist. Furthermore, the craftsmanship of the English organ was still far from that that had been attained on the continent, & most notably in his native Germany (the pedal would appear in England relatively late, 1st with coupled pedal, then much later played independently): the instrument at his disposal in his time must have seemed very insufficient.” Published in 1761, after the composer’s death, Opus 7 is here interpreted with a chamber organ. For the rest, the “Chaconnes” in F major HWV 485 & in G major HWV 442, as well as the “Fugue in G minor HWV 264 are played on the harpsichord. Richard Egarr & the Academy of Ancient Music repeat their performance of Opus 4 (see Opus HD N°40), & once again conjure us by an inventive & penetrating approach, wherein the music resonates as it does rarely in these works. Here is high quality wine that the multicanal perfectly transcends both musically & sonically.
~Jean-Jacques Millo (Translation Lawrence Schulman)

     Tracks:

Disc 1:

01. Orgelkonzert B-dur op. 7 Nr. 1 HWV 306 - Andante 05:29
02. Orgelkonzert B-dur op. 7 Nr. 1 HWV 306 - Andante 04:00
03. Orgelkonzert B-dur op. 7 Nr. 1 HWV 306 - Largo e piano 03:31
04. Orgelkonzert B-dur op. 7 Nr. 1 HWV 306 - Bourée: Allegro 02:37
05. Orgelkonzert A-dur op. 7 Nr. 2 HWV 307 - Improvised Voluntary 01:06
06. Orgelkonzert A-dur op. 7 Nr. 2 HWV 307 - Ouverture - A tempo ordinario 06:34
07. Orgelkonzert A-dur op. 7 Nr. 2 HWV 307 - Organo ad libitum 02:22
08. Orgelkonzert A-dur op. 7 Nr. 2 HWV 307 - Allegro 06:36
09. Orgelkonzert B-dur op. 7 Nr. 3 HWV 308 - Andante 05:31
10. Orgelkonzert B-dur op. 7 Nr. 3 HWV 308 - Organo (Adagio e Fuga) ad libitum 02:30
11. Orgelkonzert B-dur op. 7 Nr. 3 HWV 308 - Spiritoso 04:19
12. Orgelkonzert B-dur op. 7 Nr. 3 HWV 308 - Menuet (A) 02:01
13. Orgelkonzert B-dur op. 7 Nr. 3 HWV 308 - Menuet (B) 01:30
14. Orgelkonzert d-moll op. 7 Nr. 4 HWV 309 - Adagio 04:45
15. Orgelkonzert d-moll op. 7 Nr. 4 HWV 309 - Allegro 04:19
16. Orgelkonzert d-moll op. 7 Nr. 4 HWV 309 - Organo ad libitum 01:51
17. Orgelkonzert d-moll op. 7 Nr. 4 HWV 309 - Allegro 03:58


Disc 2:

01. Orgelkonzert g-moll op. 7 Nr. 5 HWV 310 - Allegro ma non troppo, e staccato 03:12
02. Orgelkonzert g-moll op. 7 Nr. 5 HWV 310 - Andante larghetto, e staccato 05:18
03. Orgelkonzert g-moll op. 7 Nr. 5 HWV 310 - Menuet 01:58
04. Orgelkonzert g-moll op. 7 Nr. 5 HWV 310 - Gavotte 01:57
05. Orgelkonzert B-dur op. 7 Nr. 6 HWV 311 - Pomposo 03:28
06. Orgelkonzert B-dur op. 7 Nr. 6 HWV 311 - Air Lentement 03:28
07. Orgelkonzert B-dur op. 7 Nr. 6 HWV 311 - Air, a tempo ordinario 01:39
08. Chaconne F-dur HWV 485 05:36
09. Fuge g-moll HWV 264 04:07
10. Chaconne g-moll HWV 442 17:26
11. Orgelkonzert F-dur HWV 295 'Der Kuckuck und die Nachtigall' - Larghetto 02:35
12. Orgelkonzert F-dur HWV 295 'Der Kuckuck und die Nachtigall' - Allegro 03:49
13. Orgelkonzert F-dur HWV 295 'Der Kuckuck und die Nachtigall' - Organo ad libitum 03:12
14. Orgelkonzert F-dur HWV 295 'Der Kuckuck und die Nachtigall' - Larghetto 03:06
15. Orgelkonzert F-dur HWV 295 'Der Kuckuck und die Nachtigall' - Allegro 03:25

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Checksums for 2x iso:

CFDF046C6CFBD50A3D7B35FEB227DCBD  Harmonia Mundi USA - Organ Concertos, Op. 7.iso

EFE5B492ED640AA2245E1C3879959596  Harmonia Mundi USA - Organ Concertos, Op. 7.iso