Handel: Keyboard Suite, HWV 435 (Chaconne) in G major (Suite de pièce Vol. 2 No. 2)

Multiple award-winning Dutch pianist, Daria van den Bercken, displays her exceptional talent and passion for Handel’s keyboard music with her debut album on Sony Classical.

Her project, ‘Handel at the Piano’ is aimed at familiarising a worldwide audience with the keyboard works of George Frideric Handel. Daria recently addressed the TEDx Conference in Amsterdam on the subject of first reactions to music, particularly Handel, where she argued that creating opportunities is part of the musician’s work.

Daria is known for her innovative and unusual performance spaces, which include impromptu concerts in her home, performing in South America suspended from a crane above the audience, and being towed through the cobbled streets of Amsterdam while seated at a piano.

She has appeared as a guest on ‘Pauw & Witteman’, a Dutch late-night talkshow, to perform and discuss ‘Handel at the Piano’ to a 1.3 million viewers.

Daria has performed with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Christoph Poppet, JoAnn Falletta, Ivan Meylemans and Shi-Yeon Shung and has studied with Murray Perahia and Leon Fleisher among many notable pianists.

Handel’s solo keyboard music has for too long been overshadowed by his operas, oratorios, and orchestral music. This comparative neglect seems unjust in view of the considerably large quantity of keyboard music which exists amongst his massive output.

There are about 25 suites as well as numerous other single pieces including Fugues, Chaconnes, Fantasias, Preludes and individual dance movements. Amongst the suites there were two collections which were published in Handel’s lifetime. The “Eight Great Suites” first appeared in print in 1720 followed by a further six in 1733, often referred to as “The Second Collection”. There are also a number of “miscellaneous” suites.

Smaro’s extensive research has revealed significant differences between the modern classical guitar and those of the Renaissance and Baroque periods – encompassing instrumental design and construction, string materials used, number of string courses, wide-ranging tuning schemes, etc. Such extensive variants make for a broad array of tonal qualities and colors as well as different technical and interpretive approaches.

Playing modern replicas of period instruments built by luthier Yorgos Kertsopoulos, Smaro performs transcriptions of well-known music by Bach, Handel and Scarlatti with exceptional skill and panache. Such “reinvented” guitars enable her to demonstrate many different tonal and interpretive possibilities of the period that – until now – have gone unheard. This release – as Classical Sentinel said of her first album – is certain to become “A fascinating CD for any classical music enthusiasts; a definite must-have for any serious classical guitar fans.”

Reference Track

Analytical presentation of all tunings; samples of program pieces performed on the standard classical guitar in nylon trebles and ordinary tuning

This CD features a selection of youthful works by Handel, most of which are taken from a manuscript housed at the Darmstadt library, known as the Darmstadt Harpsichord Book. Geneviève Soly is one of the central figures in baroque music in Quebec. Her recordings of Graupner’s music were hailed by critics and her exceptional work as a performer and musicologist has been unanimously acknowledged.

The repertoire for the modern guitar dates only as far back as the early 19th century, with the composers Guiliani and Sor. Before that, although many pieces of music were arranged for this most domesticated of instruments, none has survived. This CD contains two of the great masterpieces of Baroque instrumental music – the Chaconne from J.S. Bach’s D minor Partita for solo violin BWV1004, and Handel’s keyboard Chaconne.

The polyphonic quality of the modern guitar enables arrangers to transcribe music for plucked instruments such as the lute or harpsichord. The aim of this CD is to widen the repertoire of the classical guitar with some beautiful Baroque masterpieces.

Recorded and released in the ‘anniversary year’ of both Handel and Haydn, Hyperion’s Record of the Month is an effusive celebration of the two composers, performed by an artist whose renditions of 17th- and 18th-century keyboard works on the piano have received the highest possible acclaim. This recital is a welcome gesture from the ‘high priestess of Bach’ (The Sunday Times). As you will hear, Hewitt’s trademark clarity of line, singing tone and instinctive musicality are perfectly suited to the urbane elegance of the works recorded here.

In a fascinating and personal booklet note, Angela Hewitt takes the listener through her own childhood experiences of the works of Handel and Haydn that led her to select the works for this disc, and includes an interesting discussion of historical performance practice. This is an enchanting release that will delight Angela’s legion of fans.

Handel composed most of his keyboard works between 1703 and 1706, during his years in Hamburg. Siegbert Rampe's keen sense for tracking down rare items has led to him recording two world premieres for this recording; one of them, the Chaconne in G HWV 430, is presumed to be the original draft of his famous "Air". Siegbert Rampe plays a large double-manual harpsichord fitted with an additional 16-foot register built by Matthias Kramer.