Handel: Concerto Grosso in G Major, Op. 6 No. 1 HWV 319

George Frideric Handel was born a German and died a naturalized British subject. Accordingly, his long and varied career as a baroque composer took him throughout Europe, and his music shows influences from English as well as German and Italian traditions. This concerto grosso is one of twelve which constitute Handel's Op. 6. It was first published in 1739, at the beginning of the final phase of Handel's career. Prior to
this, he had found great success as an opera composer; however, the market became strained and Handel, who by this time had become a household name, began composing what we remember him most for today: his English-language oratorios.
The concerti grossi, few of which exceed fifteen minutes in length, were intended as interludes for concerts which mainly featured Handel's oratorios. Stylistically, they follow in the vein of Corelli's multi-movement concerti, scored for a concertino of two violins and one cello, along with ripieno strings and continuo - winds would have been included depending on availability, during this era.
The first movement has a stately tone of solemn majesty, featuring descending sighing lines which alternate with more sustained passages from the solo concertino. The second movement is a brisker Allegro, consisting mostly of variations and transformations upon the material introduced in the first two bars. The third movement, the only segment not focused on the G Major tonality, is set in the relative E minor. The fourth movement is largely fugal, but has a playful humor, including a surprise quiet ending. The concerto concludes with a spirited, vivacious gigue.

The chamber orchestra at my school performed this last october, and it was one of my favorite things that they did all semester. We also performed it with the addition of two oboes, which very well might have been done back in the day. The piece is not too long and has just the right amount of vivacity and stateliness.