Babell

On this recording harpsichordist Cristiano Gaudio gives us scores from the time of the famous duel between two young composers - both aged just twenty-four - that took place in Rome in 1709, George Frederic Handel and Domenico Scarlatti. History apparently records that Scarlatti emerged victorious on the harpsichord whereas Handel outdid him on the organ.

It’s a story in between reality and legend, that of the musical battle between Georg Friedrich Händel and Domenico Scarlatti. This duel between the two virtuosos took place in Rome in 1709, in the palace of Cardinal Ottoboni, and it ended in a draw. From this suggestion comes the theme of the debut recording of the young Italian virtuoso Cristiano Gaudio, who challenges himself with a selection of early compositions of those two composers.

After the album Bach, Little Books , harpsichordist Francesco Corti continues his collaboration with Arcana with a 2-CD recording entirely dedicated to George Frideric Handel.

After a wonderful Bach album, harpsichordist Francesco Corti continues his collaboration with Arcana with a recording entirely dedicated to George Frideric Handel. At the center of the project are the eight “Great” suites. These masterpieces were the composer’s first published set, and are a clear testimony to his virtuosity at the keyboard. Their characteristically diversified styles reflect not only the "mélange" of national traditions assimilated by the young composer, but also his phenomenal improvisatory talent. Moreover, the attraction of these pieces lies in their melodic and rhythmic affinity to the world of singing and orchestral writing, Händel’s strongest interests.Arrangements of Handel’s operatic overtures and arias started circulating early in his career in England, and in his later years he was known to perform his overtures on the keyboard himself. Corti designs a program showcasing the composer’s brilliant treatment of the instrument, choosing to complement the “Great” Suites with a selection of transcriptions from Händel’s own hand and from his close musical circle.

Even though Handel's œuvre for solo keyboard is somewhat irregular and less extensive than that of Bach or Domenico Scarlatti, it remains nevertheless immensely fascinating and surprising. In fact, by exploring the various genres (suite, capriccio, fugue, chaconne, …) outside of the famous Walsh collections of Suites (1720 & 1733), we discover the composer's many distinct faces. For his first solo album Philippe Grisvard looks also at composers who played essential roles in the development of Handel's style, such as Zachow, Krieger, Mattheson and Babell and thus draws a vivid and colourful picture of Handel's life.

Even though Handel's oeuvre for solo keyboard is somewhat irregular and less extensive than that of Bach or Domenico Scarlatti, it remains nevertheless immensely fascinating and surprising. In fact, by exploring the various genres (suite, capriccio, fugue, chaconne, …) outside of the famous Walsh collections of Suites (1720 & 1733), we discover the composer's many distinct faces.