G. F. Handel
Suite from Concerti a due Cori Nos. 2 and 3
Born in Halle, Germany, George Friedric Handel received most of his training as a composer and musician during the early 1700s in Italy — but achieved his greatest fame during his years in England, from 1712 to his death in 1759. Though Handel always maintained his love of Italian baroque opera, of which he became a master, it was in England where he “invented” the oratorio form, and it was there that he composed the works for which he is best known today: oratorios such as Messiah (1741), and music for royal or ceremonial events such as the Water Music suites (1717) and Music for the Royal Fireworks (1748).
Handel’s three Concerti a due Cori take their place somewhere between the oratorios and the ceremonial music — quite literally, as it happens. Nos. 2 and 3, from which the works featured in today’s concert are excerpted, were written around 1746-7 and intended as additional music for performances of his oratorios Alexander’s Feast and Judas Maccabaeus, respectively. The latter work is rather long in its own right, and it hardly seems that an event featuring either piece would need padding. But at the time it was common to include purely instrumental works at an oratorio concert, the public being not yet quite sure just how to treat this new musical genre. And thus, we get not only the oratorios but, as a bonus, these concerti.
Since Handel was England’s busiest composer at the time, and had to produce
all of this music in a short period, it’s no wonder that he borrowed themes from
a number of his other works in creating the concerti. No. 2 features themes from
three of his oratorios: the Occasional Oratorio (1746), Esther (1732), and
Messiah (1741; at the time still a relatively unknown work).
No. 3 reworks a theme from Handel’s so-called Fitzwilliam Over ture (1741), and
a hunting aria from his opera Partenope (1730). Yet a great deal of the music is
completely new, and even when reusing his old themes, Handel always applied his
ingenuity and inventiveness.
The “cori,” or choirs, of the works’ titles refer to the two choirs of oboes, bassoons, and horns that each piece requires. The works feature antiphonal writing not only for the wind choirs, but for the strings and continuo that accompany them. The opening movement from the second concerto begins regally — Handel marks it Pomposo — and develops into a series of brilliant fanfares from the horns. We follow it in today’s concert with the Allegro ma non troppo, a showcase of antiphonal effects. The Largo is an elegaic mood piece in siciliana rhythm. An adagio section begins the next movement, from No. 3, which develops from reflective D minor to a stately Andante larghetto that emphasizes the various colors of all the instruments. The final Allegro is based on the aforementioned hunting aria, and opens with brilliant (and difficult!) writing for the horns. The horn calls continue as the music develops into a cheerful gigue, bringing the concerto to a rousing close.