TheHandel organ concertos, Op. 7,HWV 306–311, refer to the sixorgan concertos fororgan andorchestra composed byGeorge Frideric Handel in London between 1740 and 1751, published posthumously in 1761 byJohn Walsh the Younger. They were written for performance during Handel'soratorios, contain almost entirely original material, including some of his most popular and inspired movements.[1]
A fine and delicate touch, a volant finger, and a ready delivery of passages the most difficult, are the praise of inferior artists: they were not noticed in Handel, whose excellencies were of a far superior kind; and his amazing command of the instrument, the fullness of his harmony, the grandeur and dignity of his style, the copiousness of his imagination, and the fertility of his invention were qualities that absorbed every inferior attainment. When he gave a concerto, his method in general was to introduce it with a voluntary movement on the diapasons, which stole on the ear in a slow and solemn progression; the harmony close wrought, and as full as could possibly be expressed; the passages concatenated with stupendous art, the whole at the same time being perfectly intelligible, and carrying the appearance of great simplicity. This kind of prelude was succeeded by the concerto itself, which he executed with a degree of spirit and firmness that no one ever pretended to equal.
— Sir John Hawkins,General History of the Science and Practice of Music. 1776.[2]
HWV 306 – Originally composed material. The first movement contains a quotation from thePassacaglia in the Suite in G minor forharpsichord, HWV 432.[3] The less played fuga is borrowed from the second movement of Handel’s Concerto Grosso Op. 6, No. 11.
HWV 307 – The last movement is based onLa Coquette from Suite No.6 ofComponimenti musicali byGottlieb Muffat.
HWV 308 – The second minuet is by an unidentified composer.
HWV 309 – The second movement is borrowed fromGeorg Philipp Telemann'sTafelmusik (1733) and the last from his own Concerto, Op. 3, No. 6.
HWV 310 – The first movement contains themes derived from the Trio sonatas, Op. 2, No. 1 and No. 8. The second movement usesPachelbel’sCanon in D,chord progression. The closingGavotte is a more elaborate reworking of a movement from the organ concerto, Op. 4, No. 3. The final gavotte is also thematically related to the aria from Agrippina (HWV 6), "Non ho cor che per amarti...".
Although a complete version of the first set oforgan concertos, Op. 4 appeared in Handel's lifetime in 1738, many of the concertos of the posthumous Op. 7 set have missing movements and sections, where Handel would have either used an existing movement solo keyboard from one of his other works or improvised directly. In the case of Op. 7, No.1, HWV 306, Handel actually indicates that parts of the Passacaglia from the Suite in G minor HWV 432 for harpsichord are to be played; the score already contains quotations for this work. It is also reported by contemporaries that Handel would often play a slow and quietvoluntary for organ solo as aprelude to his concertos.
After Handel's death, hisamanuensis and personal assistantJohn Christopher Smith collaborated with the mechanical organ makerJohn Langshaw (1725–1798) in transcribing a selection of Handel's works for chamberbarrel organ.[4] Two mechanical "organ machines", operated by a hand crank, were constructed forJohn Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute: the first had 58 barrels, 32 of which were devoted to works by Handel, and was built by the organ-builderJohn Snetzler and clockmakerChristopher Pinchbeck in 1763, a year after Stuart becamePrime Minister; a second had 6 extra barrels and was built by theBond Street watchmakerAlexander Cumming, who left a detailed inventory for each barrel, including timings in seconds for each movement. One barrel contained the concertos Op. 4, No. 5 and Op. 7, No.3 and another the concerto Op. 7, No.4 with the ad libitum slow movement provided by thesarabande and variations onLa Folia from Handel'sSuite in D minor for harpsichord HWV 437. Cumming's inventory is all that survives of these organs, one having been destroyed in a fire in 1843. There is an existing set of barrels, however, for the chamber barrel organ made by Henry Holland around 1790, formerly in theColt Clavier Collection and now atHammerwood Park inSussex. These contain two concertos HWV 290 and 294 from Op. 4 with elaborate ornamentation supplied by Smith and have been recorded byErato.[5][6]
Two modern performing editions of the concertos by the organists and musicologistsPeter Williams andTon Koopman provide missing movements and give suggestions for the ad libitum passages, possibly too earthbound according to some commentators. The recordings of the organistsGeorge Malcolm (1976) andRichard Egarr (2009) give further possibilities, which have so far not appeared in printed editions.[3][7][8]
HWV 306 – First performed on the double manual organ in thetheatre inLincoln's Inn Fields, this is the unique concerto of the series with apedal part, thepedalboard probably having been coupled to the lower register of one of the keyboards for the occasion.[10] It is on a grander and more majestic scale than the earlierOp. 4 concertos, written for the more intimate single keyboardchamber organ. The first and second movements together form a singlechaconne over aground bass, over which the organ plays a series of simple but arresting variations. There is a chaconne-like bass in the following largo. The next but more often skipped movement is afuga played in a lively and fast paced tempo with violins and violas starting the movement joined by thebasso continuo. The less played fuga gives way to an ad-libitum by the soloist, which leads to the brilliant and tuneful closingbourrée.
HWV 307 – This concerto is more lyrical and on a smaller scale than the first, with an unscored third movement.
HWV 308 – Also on a grand scale, this concerto opens with an allegro based on a motive similar to Handel'sHallelujah Chorus. It is followed by a longspiritoso based on ahornpipe. An unscoredadagio andfugue leads into the two concludingminuets.
HWV 309 – The fourth concerto starts with a noble elegiac adagio, with passages alternating between dividedcellos andbassoons and the solo organ. It is followed by an energetic and majestic allegro. An unscored slow movement leads into a lively finale in3 8 time.
HWV 310 – In the opening movement, vigorous unison tutti passages alternate with more complex chromatic passages for organ alone. An improvised adagio leads into a grandandantelarghetto, a series of variations for the organ over anostinato bass (usingPachelbel's Canon in D'schord progression), markedpiano until theforte of the last variation. The concerto concludes with a conventional minuet and gavotte.
HWV 311 – This concerto, similar in form to aVivaldi concerto, has three movements, the second unscored and the last containing threead libitum sections.[1]
Handel Organ Concertos, Op. 7, Nos. 1–6; Organ Concertos, Op. 4, Nos. 1–6. Herbert Tachezi (organ),Nikolaus Harnoncourt (conductor),Concentus Musicus Wien. Teldec – 8573 87790 2-CD set (originally released on LP, 1982)[11]
Burrows, Donald; Dunhill, Rosemary (2002),Music and Theatre in Handel's World: The Family Papers of James Harris, 1732–1780, Oxford University Press,ISBN0-19-816654-0
Derr, Ellwood (1991). "Review of new editions of Handel Organ Concertos, Op. 7 by Peter Williams and Ton Koopman & Jan Kleinbussink".Notes.47 (3):953–955.doi:10.2307/941938.JSTOR941938.
Gudger, William D. (1973),The organ concertos of GF Handel: a study based on the primary sources, Yale University, Ph.D. dissertation
Handel, George Frideric (1983),Great Organ Concerti, Opp. 4 and 7, in full score, Dover,ISBN0-486-24462-8
Handel, George Frideric (1941),Organ concertos, Op. 4, Schott, edition byHelmut Walcha with reduction of orchestral parts for a second keyboard
Handel, George Frideric (1988),Peter Williams (ed.),Organ concertos, Op. 7, Oxford University Press,ISBN0-19-363998-X, Organ part on two staves with orchestral tuttis, reconstructions of missing movements and ad libitum passages
Handel, Georg Friedrich (1989–1994),Ton Koopman (ed.),Konzerte für Orgel, Op. 7, Breitkopf & Härtel, Score and solo part with reconstructions of missing movements and ad libitum passages. Continuo realized by Jan Kleinbussink.
Sadie, Stanley; Hicks, Anthony (1987),Handel: tercentenary collection, Boydell & Brewer, pp. 271–278,ISBN0-8357-1833-6, Chapter 15, "Handel and the Organ Concerto: What we know 250 years later", by William D. Gudger
Schenker, Heinrich (1949),Six Organ Concertos: Volume II (Nos. 7–12) by G.F. Handel transcribed forpiano duet, International
