Rating: 5/5
Review:
A terrific disc
This is a terrific disc. Handel's Recorder Sonatas are lovely works, full of joy, depth and genuine tenderness and these two superb musicians do them full justice.
Handel's chamber music doesn't get anything like the attention given to his orchestral and choral works. This understandable in a way - the larger scale music is fabulous, after all - but real gems like these sonatas deserve more of a hearing in my view. They show all the aspects of Handel's genius: they are tuneful, harmonically brilliant and above all a genuine pleasure to listen to.
In the hands of Pamela Thorby and Richard Egarr they really shine. Egarr is now well established as one of the world's foremost baroque musicians through his solo recordings, his partnership with Andrew Manze and more recently his direction of The Academy of Ancient Music (with whom he has made some magnificent Handel recordings.) Pamela Thorby, while less well known, is a virtuoso of equal standing, in my view with a fine catalogue of recordings including some belters with The Palladian Ensemble. Together they make something really special of these Handel sonatas with a fine understanding between them, a perfect balance between instruments and a lovely sound from Egarr's harpsichord and organ and Thorby's recorders. They make some of the virtuosic passages sound as natural as breathing and the quieter movements are simply lovely. It's exemplary chamber music playing.
I have versions of these pieces played both on recorder (by Michala Petri and Keith Jarrett) and flute (by Lisa Beznosiuk) which I have loved for years. This, however, is the best I know and is very warmly recommended indeed.
(I would also strongly recommend Pamela Thorby's disc The Garden of Early Delights with the harpist Andrew Lawrence-King. It's another beauty.)
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