Concerto Grosso No. 1 in G Major

Two ideas stand in harmony in the opening movement of the first of Handel’s Op. 6 concertos: a stately introduction for string orchestra and an answering phrase voiced by two solo violins, with an underlying continuo part for cello, harpsichord and other optional bass instruments. The music’s rather solemn tread is replaced in the second movement by an almighty dose of rhythmic energy from the full band, which is eagerly taken up by the soloists and tapped to propel displays of virtuosity from both groups. Handel’s long experience as a composer for the stage surfaces in the concerto’s sombre “Adagio”, which demonstrates his genius for sustaining strong emotional states through the ideal blend of melody and harmony. The movement’s unfolding contrasts between solo and concerted voices and imitative counterpoint add drama to the music’s heightened expression of melancholy. Sunlight is restored by the penultimate movement’s radiant duet for two solo fiddles and lively contrapuntal dialogue for soloists and orchestra, intensified by the finale’s swaggering joie de vivre. About Handel's Concerti Grossi Handel’s Concerti Grossi Op. 6, composed in the fall of 1739 for performance during the intervals of his forthcoming London theatre season, packs a dazzling variety of musical styles into the individual movements of a dozen works for string orchestra, with or without solo violins and continuo. The set’s title translates as “Grand Concertos”, which is how they were first billed in print. Handel became captivated by the concerto grosso in 1707 soon after his arrival in Rome, where it had been popularised by Arcangelo Corelli. His Op. 6 collection raises Corelli’s multi-movement form to perfection, exploiting the dramatic and tonal contrasts between solo or concertino and orchestral or ripieno groups with compelling ingenuity and panache.