With the exception of the final Chaconne of the second set, these discs
contain the two sets of suites of 1720 and 1733 which are Handel’s most
important keyboard music. It is an impressive achievement, with stylish
harpsichord playing and a real sense of the energy and originality of
these works. Repeats are taken, mostly with sensible ornamentation which
never strays into tastelessness or exaggeration, and notes inégales
are introduced in small amounts, especially in the allemandes, and with
commendable moderation – a good thing, since we have little evidence about
the extent to which Handel was influenced by this practice.
Volume 1 is less successful than the others, as if Sophie Yates had not
entirely got into her stride: the noble Chaconne HWV 435, for instance, is
somewhat underpowered and lacking in drama and variety of tempo, and this
is compounded by the fact that the text used is the old familiar corrupt
version published by Walsh, Chrysander and almost everybody else. The huge
eight-part Gigue of the G minor suite, HWV 439, on the other hand, is
thrillingly played, and the youthful Handel’s exuberance is well caught.
Volumes 2 and 3, whose core is the more mature 1720 set, are much finer,
and offer some magnificent performances, particularly in the more dashing
pieces, such as the finales of HWV 428, 432, and 433, while in the fugues
the part-writing is brought out with splendid clarity.
My main reservation, as already hinted at, is the texts used: they are
clearly the original HHA volumes 1 and 2 of
the keyboard music. In recent years revised volumes have been issued (vol.
1 in 1993, vol. 2 in 1999), incorporating the results of the most recent
research: this is particularly important in volume 2, the 1733 set: two
missing movements are restored (the Prelude to HWV 437, the Sarabande of
HWV 439) and the text is corrected from the manuscript sources. It may be
that the revised second volume came out too late for the first of the
present discs, but Sophie Yates could have used the 1993 first volume for
discs 2 and 3. Furthermore her liner notes are not very informative, and
sometimes incorrect, especially about the complex history of the genesis
of the 1733 set. But it is the music and the playing of it which are
important, and there can be no doubt about the overall quality of these
discs.
Volume 1:
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Volumes 2-3:
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