Handel: Organ Concerto No. 4 in F major, HWV292, Op. 4 No. 4

“Herbert Tachezi is delightfully inventive in ornamentation and organ 'ad lib' movements. Lively tempos and jaunty dances, but tuning instability from oboes conflicts with the immutably pitched organ.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2009 ***

“Dantone's deft improvisation and ornamentation recapture Handel's own practice when playing these pieces, adding a further touch of freshness to performances that already bristle with vitality.” The Telegraph, 21st April 2009 ****

“…Handel's organ concertos… benefit from strong gestures and an overall brightness of approach that reaches out to the listener. Ottavio Dantone and Accademia Bizantina achieved these with ease, first of all by using a six-stop chamber organ with more bite and colour to it...and secondly by making sure that details of rhetoric, contrast and articulation are always sharply etched. ...these are certainly distinguished performances in their own right, rich with intelligence and flair.” Gramophone Magazine, August 2009

“Saving a conspicuously spirited account of the F major No. 4 until last, Dantone… embodies the 'uncommon brilliancy and command of fingers' laid at Handel's door by Mainwaring. …recorded in the Halle church which witnessed many a Handel family wedding, Dantone and his band tie the concerto knot with dashing immediacy.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2009 ****

“Harry Christophers brings the same fire to these perfect miniatures that he brought to his triumphant Messiah last year, firmly establishing him as the Handelian of the moment. Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened, Zadok the Priest and The King Shall Rejoice all fizz and crackle but best of all is My Heart Is Inditing, sung with a rich, classy poise.” The Observer, 8th February 2009

“What a strange decision to pad out the four anthems that Handel composed for the coronation of George II in 1727 with well-known bits and pieces from the rest of the composer's oeuvre. With the exception of the Organ Concerto No 4 – given here in the original version with a choral finale – the additional works dilute rather than strengthen the disc's attraction. It's not as if the Coronation Anthems lack popular appeal – one of them is the great crowd-pleaser Zadok the Priest. Here Christophers opts for surprise rather than suspense in the famous build-up but otherwise the disc's musical quality is dependably high.” The Telegraph, 12th February 2009

“With St Paul's Deptford standing in for Westminster Abbey the acoustic is ideally focused - no 'billow' blurring the edges of a wonderfully buoyant 'The King Shall Rejoice' (its ensuing 'Exceeding Glad' delivered with an irresistible lightness of touch), and if 'My Heart is Inditing' sometimes sounds over-manicured, the orchestra can be relied upon to inject a bit of edge when the singing rises to the Royal occasion with aristocratic detachment. ...overall, this is a regally polished programme.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2009 ****

“…these fresh, spontaneous and vivacious performances are revelatory. Not only is the choral singing wonderfully clear, perfectly enunciated, beautifully phrased and impeccably tuned, but also the orchestral playing… is brilliantly alert, bold and lyrical. ...overall this disc ranks as The Sixteen's most exciting achievement in its impressive Handel discography.” Gramophone Magazine, April 2009

“There are plenty of very good recordings of the four anthems that Handel composed for the coronation of King George II and Queen Caroline, but this new one by The Sixteen leaps straight towards the top of the heap (those preferring to hear boy trebles might already admire the excellent version by King's College, Cambridge, under Cleobury, above).
We have come selfishly to expect reliability, stylishness and honest fine musicianship from Harry Christophers, his singers and instrumentalists.
Yet these fresh, spontaneous and vivacious performances are revelatory. Not only is the choral singing wonderfully clear, perfectly enunciated, beautifully phrased and impeccably tuned, but also the orchestral playing – an aspect too often relegated to auto-pilot in this repertoire – is brilliantly alert, bold and lyrical. Zadokthe Priest never fails to make a strong impression even in average performances (and The Sixteen's expertly judged reading is anything but average), but the special quality of this disc is that the other three lesser-known anthems also receive performances that allow them to shine just as brightly as the most famous (and shortest) anthem. My heart is inditing is radiantly performed ('The King shall have pleasure in her beauty' is gorgeously shaped), The King shallrejoice is splendidly poised and paced, and the first part of Let thy hand be strengthened conveys the perfect juxtaposition of forthrightness and elegance. Christophers's sure direction locks onto the musical interest and richness of each section in the longer anthems (some other good versions rely on good openings and grand conclusions, but the bits in between sometimes get a bit lost). Coupled with a sparkling account of the Organ Concerto Op 4 No 4 (superbly played by Alastair Ross, and with a magnificent choral 'Alleluia' finale created for the 1735 revival of Athalia), a couple of orchestral interludes and the last chorus of Messiah, the judicious programme avoids the overkill factor one sometimes encounters when all four anthems are heard consecutively.
Donald Burrows's booklet-note is ideally detailed and accessible, and overall this disc ranks as The Sixteen's most exciting achievement in its impressive Handel discography.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Egarr's playing sparkles with vitality and character. The musicianship of the Academy of Ancient Music is outstanding, and their articulate and dynamically shaded playing is subtle and responsive.” Gramophone Magazine, August 2008

“There is a freshness and sense to what (Egarr) does which becomes more apparent with every hearing” BBC Music Magazine

“These elegant and characterful performances are simply too good to miss.” International Record Review

“Matthew Halls might be a safer bet, but Egarr is worth hearing: his charisma is infectious and the recorded sound sensational.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2008 ****

“The Academy of Ancient Music and Richard Egarr surpass, in my mind, any performance of these concertos hitherto recorded…Delightful, delicious, debonaire and wholly distracting from modern climes - perfect! More please!” The Organ Star Recording

“these are highly expressive and persuasive accounts...Egarr really knows how to make a harpsichord bristle, and the forces are at their best in contrapuntal final movements..The Academy's sense of rhythm often brings out an unaccustomed balletic quality, refreshing music grown soggy through repeated use.” Matthew Shorter, bbc.co.uk, 20th November 2002

“They take precedence over all the competition, both as performances and as recordings. The playing has wonderful life and warmth, tempi are always aptly judged, and although original instruments are used, this is authenticity with a kindly presence.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“This recording was made at St-Lawrence Whitchurch on an organ Handel must certainly have played. It sounds well under Paul Nicholson's hands. There's plenty of brightly glittering passagework and rich diapason sound in such movements as the passacaglia-like first of Op 7 No 1; while the softer side of the instrument is particularly appealing in Op 4 No 5, where Nicholson, doubtless conscious that this is a transcription of a recorder sonata, draws from it some very sweet sounds. It has a mechanical action, and here and there the incidental noise may be disconcerting.
Still, it's authentic, so possibly we should be grateful to have it reproduced. There's some very lively and at times virtuoso playing from Nicholson in the quick movements, with sturdy rhythms, and some of the dance movements go with a good swing too.
Nicholson gives good, precise accounts of the various solo fugues and the transcriptions and improvisatory movements used here when Handel offered merely an ad lib. He's a thoughtful player; his added ornamentation is always musical, intelligent and stylish. However, in several movements overdeliberate orchestral phrasing or accentuation can be damaging; this happens quite often and sometimes affects Nicholson's playing. Op 4 No 6 is played on the harp, with some very delicate timing from Frances Kelly.
The bright, clear recording captures happily the acoustic of this moderate-sized church.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“It (the organ) does ‘ speak with an Italian accent’, though: it is light, transparent, joyful with almost flimsy foundation stops. This matches well Ghielmi’s dynamic and lively playing….Ghielmi being the director as well as soloist, there is a pleasant unity of phrasing….Warmly recommended.” Goldberg, June 2008

“The resonant sound makes the small band sound much bigger than it really is, and Gheilmi's organ sounds much more like a "church" organ than Egarr's lighter instrument.” Gramophone Magazine, August 2008