Handel: Water Music, Fireworks Music - Plak

ENGLISH

Composed in the spirit of the Baroque, the Water Music and Royal Fireworks Music were written by the highly regarded George Frideric Handel on commissions from Kings George I and George II of England.<br /><br /> The remarkable première of the Water Music – a suite of instrumental airs, fanfares, dances, and other delights – was played in 1717 by musicians in a barge who entertained the King and his entourage on a banquet held on board the royal barge which travelled up and down the river Thames. According to reports at the time, Handel’s new work was greeted with unanimous acclaim.<br /><br /> Music appeared equally fitting for the solemn but festive commemoration of a peace treaty. The Royal Fireworks Music – originally scored for brass, oboes and bassoons, plus timpani and the bizarre serpent horn – was composed in 1749 for the victory gala in London’s Green Park celebrating the Peace of Aix-La-Chapelle.<br /><br /> In both pieces Georg Szell and the London Symphony Orchestra conjure up the full splendour of baroque tonality. Orchestra and conductor are clearly in a festive mood. The strings show rare form, lush and radiant. The brass are brilliant but never shrill. The atmosphere is transparent, the spatial effects are impressive.<br /><br /> For the outstanding quality of this recording we are indebted not least to its inspired recording engineer, Kenneth E. Wilkinson.<br /><br /> Recording: August 1961 at Watford Town Hall, Watford by Kenneth E. Wilkinson / Production: John Culshaw