Suite No. 1 in B‑Flat Major

The Suite No. 1 in B-flat is the first of Handel’s second set of keyboard suites published in 1733-34. It was composed much earlier (c. 1710-17) and is not really a suite at all (the “Minuet”, sometimes played at the end, is actually an independent work). The three movements all owe something to Handel’s famous talent for improvisation. The introductory “Prélude” has its roots in the semi-extemporised openings to French harpsichord suites by the likes of Louis Couperin. Handel offers a partially written-out version of his intentions, providing rich chord sequences as a scaffold for spontaneous elaboration, plus illustrative cascades of scales and arpeggios designed to exploit the instrument’s resonance. The following “Sonata” looks simple on paper but, with its energetic imitation of orchestral string writing, is remarkably exciting in performance. In the final “Aria con variazioni” Handel treats a stately “Air” to a series of five lively variations. Brahms later wrote his own solo piano variations on the theme, while Tippett used the opening of the “Prélude” for his “Fantasia on a Theme of Handel” for piano and orchestra. About Handel's Keyboard Suites Most of Handel’s solo keyboard music was published in two volumes of Suites de Pièces. The first appeared in 1720, containing eight suites, and the second followed in 1733-34, with nine suites—all composed much earlier in Handel’s career. Each suite offers a different lineup of movements in an astonishing variety of styles. Mingling with some of the dances of the traditional French suite—“Allemande”, “Courante”, “Sarabande” and “Gigue”—are theme-and-variations, fugues and concerto-like movements. Handel’s use of Italian, French and English movement titles reflect his wide-ranging, cosmopolitan style which was, nevertheless, technically quite modest and well within the reach of good amateur performers.