Sonatas for the Recorder

Linn CKD 223 1 SACD Hybrid full price Recorded in 2003. Released in 2004.	Recorder sonata in D minor, Op 1 No 9a (HWV 367a) Recorder sonata in B-flat major (HWV 377) Recorder sonata in C major, Op 1 No 7 (HWV 365) Harpsichord suite in E major or "The Harmonious Blacksmith" (HWV 430) Recorder sonata in F major, Op 1 No 11 (HWV 369) Recorder sonata in A minor, Op 1 No 4 (HWV 362) Recorder sonata in G minor, Op 1 No 2 (HWV 360) Pamela Thorby, recorder Richard Egarr, harpsichord & organ
Raumklang / marc aurel edition MA 20024 1 CD full price Recorded in 2002. Released in 2004.	Trio sonata in C minor (HWV 386a) Recorder sonata in D minor, Op 1 No 9a (HWV 367a) Recorder sonata in F major, Op 1 No 11 (HWV 369) Recorder sonata in B-flat major (HWV 377) Recorder sonata in A minor, Op 1 No 4 (HWV 362) Recorder sonata in C major, Op 1 No 7 (HWV 365) Recorder sonata in G minor, Op 1 No 2 (HWV 360) Trio sonata in F major, Op 2 No 4 (HWV 389) Dorothee Oberlinger, recorder Ensemble 1700 (on period instruments)

Handel’s recorder sonatas might not be among his most celebrated masterpieces, but they have not suffered badly on disc either: there are several excellent period instrument versions, from L’École d’Orphée (featuring Philip Pickett and Rachel Beckett), Marion Verbruggen accompanied by Ton Koopman (Harmonia Mundi), and Dan Laurin accompanied by Hidemi and Masaaki Suzuki (on BIS). Two more recent recordings deserve some attention too, yet could not be more different. Pamela Thorby, like Verbruggen, goes for an uncompromising authentic approach with only Richard Egarr’s excellent continuo support; Dorothee Oberlinger’s support group includes violin, bassoon, bass recorder, viola da gamba, harpsichord, and a strummer who alternates between lute, guitar and theorbo – although this is partly justified by the inclusion of two trio sonatas (HWV 386a and 389)

Of the two approaches, Ensemble 1700 seem to make the music much richer and bass-heavy than Handel probably intended, and it seems to me that Thorby’s minimalist approach is far more authentic and in keeping with the music’s symmetrical conventions and expressive style. However, there are some beautiful things in Oberlinger’s playing, and she seems consistently more involved and sentimental than Thorby, who is instead plucky, brilliant, phenomenally alert yet somehow lacking in poetry.

Dorothee Oberlinger has worked with some of the leading baroque chamber ensembles including London Baroque, Musica Antiqua Köln and Sonatori de la Gioisa Marca. Her recording is based on a radio broadcast made in Köln, which is less spacious and airy than Thorby’s converted church. The feeling of having one’s head rammed between the harpsichord and plucked bass is not helped by the rather heavy and implausible continuo section, and some of the Raumklang discs seems to make heavy weather of things. However, Oberlinger’s musicianship is solid, and track 3 (the second Andante from HWV 386a) is particularly attractive. I particularly enjoyed the packaging – an incidental detail that is not of vital importance to some, but the 18th century British style booklet, meticulous detail concerning the instrumentation, a stimulating essay, and even a bibliography of relevant scholarly literature.

Pamela Thorby is best known as the leader of The Palladian Ensemble, and her recital boasts particularly excellent sound engineering enabled by a top quality audiophile recording made at the National Centre for Early Music in York. It is fascinating that Thorby and Egarr claim to have performed these sonatas using facsimiles of Handel’s autograph manuscripts, and this musicological spirit is certainly reflected in the appropriate dimensions of their performances. I dare say that Handel never envisaged hearing all of these sonatas performed one after another, and it is in some ways a more authentic experience to dip into this disc for a sonata or two whenever the inclination arises. I am dubious about Thorby’s claim that these sonatas might have been performed at the King’s Theatre during the interval between acts of an opera: there is not a shred of evidence to suggest this practice, and it seems far more probable that the sonatas were provided for domestic environments.

Both of these recordings have merit to recommend them. Although my slight preference goes to Thorby for stylistic performance, Oberlinger seems comparably well researched and prepared, yet neither of them match the superb musicality of Dan Laurin’s recording on BIS.

Thorby / Egarr (Linn):

Oberlinger / Ensemble 1700 (Marc Aurel):

© David Vickers - March 2005