During the 1730s George Frideric Handel, renowned in the British Isles as an esteemed composer, decided to embellish performances of his oratorios. To that end, he added organ concertos with orchestra to his large-scale vocal works with instrumental accompaniment, to be performed during the intervals. The composer himself played the solo part, which gave him the chance to display his skills as an excellent organist to London audiences. This was not Handel’s first such display of showmanship; in 1707 he had given expression to his virtuosity by performing the Sonata for solo organ and orchestra that forms part of the oratorio Il trionfo del Tempo e Disinganno. However, the organ concertos from the second half of the 30s may be regarded as stand-alone works, not integral parts of larger compositions. In 1738 they were collected together by the London publisher John Walsh and issued as Handel’s Op. 4. Another set, Op. 7, appeared after the composer’s death. Also among Handel’s acquaintances in England were the brothers Pietro and Prospero Castrucci. The former gained far greater recognition, as he spent more than 20 years as leader of Handel’s operatic orchestra. He was certainly a virtuoso violinist, and his compositions are characterised by the use of advanced – for those times – performance technique.
Simply… Philharmonic! Project 4:
Already in the early Middle Ages, music lovers took delight in the art of improvisation and ornamentation. So in wishing to impress London audiences as an organ virtuoso, George Frideric Handel added organ concertos to his oratorios. Almost to the end of his life, despite his deteriorating eyesight, he wowed listeners with his improvised solo performances. In the English capital, Handel’s entourage included another outstanding instrumentalist – the violinist Pietro Castrucci, whose compositions attest to his brilliant performance skills. In the Renaissance, as well, performers embellished familiar melodies of songs and dances in order to present them solely on instruments, without vocal accompaniment. Over time, the principles governing such ornamentation were written down in the form of treatises, to set them out not just for performers, but also for composers wishing to write instrumental works. There was also no lack of improvised ornamentation in vocal music. Singers at the court of Louis XIII performed airs de cour, popular at that time, in which they extemporised embellishments to melodies that in notation were ostensibly quite simple. After all, those songs were meant to delight the king himself.
Daniel Laskowski
