George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Se in fiorito ameno prato – Sonatas for violin and basso continuo
Sonata in D (HWV 371) (with Allemande in B minor, HWSV 407)
Prelude in G minor (HWV 572) – Sonata in D minor (HWV 359a)
Sonata in A (HWV 361)
Sonata in G minor (HWV 364a)
Sonata in E (HWV 373) (probably spurious)
Sonata in G minor (HWV 368) (probably spurious)
Quartetto Vanvitelli
rec. 2024, Corte delle Dolomiti (Villaggio Eni), Borca di Cadore (Belluno), Italy 
Reviewed as a download
Arcana A578 [61]

Handel has left a considerable corpus of chamber music, consisting of sonatas for a solo instrument and basso continuo and trio sonatas. They are quite popular, resulting in a large number of recordings. However, this part of Handel’s oeuvre is a real quagmire of originals, adaptations and arrangements, authentications and falsifications. The catalogue of his works includes a number of sonatas which have an additional letter to their number, indicating that they have been preserved in different versions. To what extent these versions are from by Handel or even in accordance with his own intentions, it is hard to say. Undoubtedly, unscrupulous and commercially driven publishers played their role in this process of adaptation and arrangement as well, in particular the infamous John Walsh. David Vickers, in the liner-notes to the present recording, mentions several examples of his machinations.

The Quartetto Vanvitelli focuses on the sonatas for violin and basso continuo. The Handel catalogue includes five such works which are considered authentic, with regard to both their authorship and their scoring. Four of these have been included here; the Sonata in G (HWV 358) has been omitted for reasons that are hard to understand, as the duration of this disc leaves plenty space for it.

The Sonata in D minor (HWV 359a) and the Sonata in G minor (HWV 364a) may have been intended as a pair. On the basis of the watermark it can be concluded that they were written in the years 1724/25. That was the time Handel composed and performed, among others, his opera Giulio Cesare in Egitto, which is why the ensemble has inserted between the second and third movement of the Sonata in D minor an arrangement of ‘V’adoro pupille’ from the second act. Material from the aria Se in fiorito ameno prato is used for the cadenza in the second movement of the Sonata in D (HWV 371), although this is of a much later date, from 1749/50. Here, the second and third movements are separated by the Allemande in B minor (HWV 479), although the second, third and fourth movements are played attacca.

With the Sonata in A (HWV 361) we return to the 1720s; the autograph dates from 1725/26. Vickers mentions that this sonata was published by Walsh correctly, meaning in the right key and with the correct instrumentation – an exception to the rule. Here, the performers have again added something: in the cadenza of the second movement, Gian Andrea Guerra turns to a concerto in Vivaldian style, incorrectly attributed to William Babell. Also included are four bars from to overture to Handel’s opera Rinaldo of 1711.

The programme closes with two sonatas which are spurious (although the track-list says that they are ‘probably spurious’). The fact is that both are preserved in manuscript in the British Library and both include the remark that they are not of Handel’s pen. Their true identity has not been established. For what it’s worth, they don’t sound really Handelian to my ears. The Sonata in E was published by John Walsh in an edition he presented as being printed by the Amsterdam publisher Roger (apparently the man had no conscience). The Sonata in G minor (HWV 368) is taken from the set that Walsh published – under his own name – as Handel’s Op. 1, with the addition “This is more Corect [sic] than the former Edition”. However, it still included two spurious works, among them this sonata.

Although these two sonatas are almost certainly not written by Handel, the performers have again included material from parts of his oeuvre. In the opening adagio of the Sonata in E they quote the aria ‘Piangerò la sorte mia’ from Giulio Cesare in Egitto. In the Sonata in G minor the last movement is preceded by an arrangement of the aria ‘Care speme’ from the same opera.

This brings us to the Quartetto Vanvitelli’s approach to these sonatas. Vickers writes that “the quartet’s use of quotations, references and interludes create an immersion in the broader sound-world of Handel’s music-making in 1720s London and celebrate the tercentenary of Giulio Cesare (1724)”. He ends his liner-notes thus: “There are plenty of exceptional recordings of Handel’s violin sonatas that take diverse kinds of graceful, intimate or sober approaches. The Quartetto Vanvitelli invite listeners to appreciate their fresh eclecticism and theatrically-tinged alternative point of view.” ‘Sober’ these performances are most certainly not. Given the theatrical approach, the term ‘intimate’ seems out of place, too. Whether they are graceful is a matter of taste.

Don’t misunderstand me: I am a great admirer of this ensemble. In recent years I have reviewed several of its discs which I greatly appreciated, for instance a recording of sonatas by Michele Mascitti (review), and the playing here is excellent, as well. I like the dynamic way of playing, which is theatrical in itself. And that is one of the reasons that I could do without all these additions. I don’t see the reason to include parts of Handel’s operas. Playing a kind of introduction to a sonata seems to have been common practice in the baroque era, but is seldom applied these days. However, adding them within a sonata is a different matter. Obviously, a performer is free to use in cadenzas the material he wants. From that angle there is nothing wrong with turning to material from operas, but, I am not sure whether performers in Handel’s time added substantial cadenzas in chamber music – and in the second movement of the Sonata in D, to my ears the cadenza sounds as out of place.

In conclusion, I have greatly enjoyed the playing of the four artists here; it is the approach to the repertoire that has not convinced me. Others may embrace it and see this recording as a good alternative to the many recordings to which David Vickers referred. I advise listening to some tracks at one of the platforms where this disc is available.

Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
https://bsky.app/profile/musicadeidonum.bsky.social

Buying this recording via a link below generates revenue for MWI, which helps the site remain free