To all lovers of Musick by Al Ayre Español

Georg Friedrich Händel

Al Ayre Español

To all lovers of Musick

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917266320
Catnr: CC 72663
Release date: 10 April 2015
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Label
Challenge Classics

UPC
0608917266320

Catalogue number
CC 72663

Release date
10 April 2015

""This interpretation of the sonatas op.5 is quite annoying.""

Toccata, 01-5-2016

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

Press

About the album

During his stay in Rome, Händel participated in the musical evenings hosted by Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni and Prince Francesco Ruspoli, where he would have met Arcangelo Corelli, who had established the defining features of the sonata da chiesa. It is not surprising, then, that Handel’s six trio sonatas op. 2 (published in 1733, but composed in the early ’20’s) strictly follow the four-movement structure of Corelli’s sonatas (slow-quick-slow-quick). Op. 5 (HWV 396-402), on the other hand, shows a more mature, flexible and personal approach to this formal pattern, adding a fifth movement in all the sonatas and a sixth movement in two of them (Nos. 3 and 5). As a result, these sonatas are, in reality, suites in five or six movements, whose last section is always a dance-piece in the French style (gavotte, minuet or bourrée). The sequence of contrasting movements that characterize op. 5 demonstrates a curious mix of styles and techniques, as well as the juxtaposition of distinctive dramatic characteristics, so that these seven sonatas appear to resemble seven scenes of a wordless opera, combining a variety of feelings. Besides its innovative structure, the most remarkable characteristic of this body of work lies in the fact that it barely contains original music at all: most of it is composed from pre-existing material taken from Handel’s own compositions, which makes it a typical example of a habit so popular among opera composers, the pasticcio. A quotation of previous materials in a “new” piece, as it occurs in op. 5, must not be seen as a sign of creative sterility but as an intelligent way of refreshing his musical thinking with subtle transformations, driven by the process of adaptation to a new context, to a new ensemble and to the conventions of a distinct genre such as the sonata.

Een opname van de belangrijkste kamermuziek van Händel
Dit album bevat een opname van Triosonates opus 5 van Händel, uitgevoerd door Al Ayre Español.

Händel hield zich tijdens zijn jeugd al bezig met het componeren van triosonates. Volgens zijn vriend Charles Jennens componeerde hij een van de zes sonates uit zijn opus 2 toen hij veertien jaar oud was. De sonates uit dit werk hebben de vierdelige vorm van Corelli’s sonates.

De sonates van opus 5 tonen daarentegen een volgroeide, flexibele en persoonlijke benadering van Corelli’s vorm. Het aantal sonates waaruit dit werk bestaat is eigenaardig: het zijn er zeven, in plaats van de gebruikelijke drie of zes. Vijf van de sonates zijn vijfdelig, en de overige twee zesdelig. Deze sonates zijn eigenlijk vijf- of zesdelige suites. Het laatste deel is altijd een dansstuk in de Franse stijl: een gavotte, menuet, of bourrée.

De opeenvolging van contrasterende delen laat een eigenaardige mix van stijlen en technieken zien. Typische dramatische kenmerken worden naast elkaar geplaatst, waardoor de zeven sonates net zeven scenes uit een woordloze opera lijken. Het meest opmerkelijke kenmerk van opus 5, naast de innovatieve structuur, is dat de muziek nauwelijks origineel is. Het grootste deel van de sonates bestaat uit materiaal uit eerdere composities van Händel.

Het ervaren, beroemde en bekroonde ensemble Al Ayre Español geeft een energieke en intense uitvoering van de zeven sonates uit opus 5.

Während seines Aufenthaltes in Rom hat Händel sicherlich die Bekanntschaft von Arcangelo Corelli gemacht, der die charakteristischen Aspekte der sonata da chiesa etabliert hatte; kein Wunder also, dass auch Händels Triosonaten op. 2 zunächst Corellis Struktur folgen. Schon wenige Kompositionen später allerdings lassen die Sonaten (op. 5) eine viel flexiblere, reifere Herangehensweise an das formale Muster und eine innovative, individuelle Struktur erkennen. Diese sieben Sonaten sind nicht mehr nur Kammermusik, sie scheinen vielmehr wie Szenen einer wortlosen Oper, mit markanten dramatischen Charakteristiken und vielfältigen Emotionen, die das so erfahrene wie beliebte Ensemble Al Ayre Español mit seinem typischen Schwung und musikalischer Intensität auf dieser CD erfahrbar macht.

Durante il suo soggiorno romano, Handel prese parte alle serate musicali ospitate dal cardinale Pietro Ottoboni e dal principe Francesco Ruspoli, dove avrebbe incontrato Arcangelo Corelli, che aveva determinato gli elementi caratteristici della sonata da chiesa. Non deve sorprendere, quindi, che le Sei sonate a tre Op. 2 di Handel (pubblicate nel 1733, ma composte nei primi anni Venti) seguano strettamente la struttura in quattro movimenti delle sonate di Corelli (lento-veloce-lento-veloce). L’Op. 5 (HWV 396-402), d’altro canto, rivela un approccio più maturo, flessibile e personale a questo modello formale, aggiungendo un quinto movimento in tutte le sonate e un sesto movimento in due di esse (nn. 3 e 5). Di conseguenza, queste sonate sono in realtà delle suites in cinque o sei movimenti, la cui ultima sezione è sempre un movimento di danza in stile francese (gavotte, minuet o bourrée). La successione di movimenti contrastanti che caratterizza l’Op. 5 dimostra una curiosa commistione di stili e di tecniche, come pure la giustapposizione di ‘affetti’ distintamente teatrali, tanto che queste sette sonate sembrano assomigliare ad altrettante scene di un’opera senza parole, combinando una varietà di sentimenti. Oltre alla sua innovativa struttura, la caratteristica più notevole di questo corpus di opere sta nel fatto che quasi non contiene musica originale: molte delle sonate sono composte a partire da materiale preesistente, tratto da composizioni dello stesso Handel – rendendole un tipico esempio di una prassi molto popolare fra gli operisti, il pasticcio. Una citazione di materiale precedente in un ‘nuovo’ pezzo, come avviene nell’Op. 5, non dev’essere considerata come un segnale di sterilità creativa, bensì un modo intelligente di rinfrescare il suo pensiero musicale con sottili trasformazioni, guidato dal procedimento di adattamento a un nuovo contesto, a un nuovo organico e alle convenzioni di un genere particolare come quello della sonata.

Artist(s)

Eduardo López Banzo

Eduardo López Banzo, born in Zaragoza in 1961, is one European conductor who has made Historicism his own musical philosophy with the most conviction, in order to bring his musicians closer to the sources and spirit of each composition, which results in the music sounding fresh and innovative to contemporary audiences after so many centuries. He studied organ and harpsichord in Zaragoza with José Luis González Uriol and in Amsterdam with Jacques van Oortmersen and Gustav Leonhardt, who encouraged him to champion the cause of Spanish baroque music. In 2002 he received the Medal of Honour of the Conservatory of Music of the Balearic Islands for his work in favour of the baroque composer Antonio de Literes, but it was in...

Eduardo López Banzo, born in Zaragoza in 1961, is one European conductor who has made Historicism his own musical philosophy with the most conviction, in order to bring his musicians closer to the sources and spirit of each composition, which results in the music sounding fresh and innovative to contemporary audiences after so many centuries. He studied organ and harpsichord in Zaragoza with José Luis González Uriol and in Amsterdam with Jacques van Oortmersen and Gustav Leonhardt, who encouraged him to champion the cause of Spanish baroque music.
In 2002 he received the Medal of Honour of the Conservatory of Music of the Balearic Islands for his work in favour of the baroque composer Antonio de Literes, but it was in 2004 that he achieved Major success, when Al Ayre Español, the group he had founded in 1988, was awarded the Spanish National Music Prize, granted by the Spanish Ministry of Culture, in recognition to their more than twenty years of musicological rigour and performance excellence. This acknowledgement leads to Al Ayre Español becoming a point of reference for historicist interpretation all across Europe.
He has been invited to conduct for the symphonic orchestras of Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Galicia, Madrid, Granada and Comunitat Valenciana, and period instruments ensembles such as New York Collegium, San Francisco‘s Philarmonia Baroque Orchestra, the Belgian B‘Rock, Orquesta Barroca de Sevilla and the Polish Arte dei Suonatori and KORE.
In the operatic field, Eduardo Lopez Banzo is currently one of the most important specialists in Handel‘s operas. He has also participated in stage productions by Bilbao‘s Friends of Opera Association (ABAO/ OLBE), in Valencia‘s Palau de les Arts with the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, and in Kiel Opera with the Philarmonisches Orchester Kiel.
He has also lectured and conducted specialized courses and masterclasses at the Universities of Salamanca, Alcalá de Henares, UIMP Santander and Zaragoza, the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and the Fondazione Cini in Venice, and every year gives a renowned course on the baroque cantata in León (Centro Nacional de Difusión Musical, Spain’s Ministry of Culture).
Eduardo López Banzo was honored with the Key to the City of Zaragoza award in October 2010.

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Al Ayre Español

Al Ayre Español was founded in 1988 by Eduardo López Banzo, in an effort to challenge the pervading clichés that often surrounded the performance of Spanish baroque music at that time. The name of the ensemble was inspired by the title of a guitar fugue by the Aragonese composer Gaspar Sanz. The fact that Al Ayre Español has not settled for becoming a specialised early music ensemble, but chosen instead to create a musical philosophy „al ayre español“ (à la espagnole), has allowed the project to be flexible enough to adapt itself to different formats. With 30 years of appearances in the top festivals and theaters in Europe, 14 years as a resident orchestra at the Auditorio de Zaragoza, 18 CD...

Al Ayre Español was founded in 1988 by Eduardo López Banzo, in an effort to challenge the pervading clichés that often surrounded the performance of Spanish baroque music at that time. The name of the ensemble was inspired by the title of a guitar fugue by the Aragonese composer Gaspar Sanz. The fact that Al Ayre Español has not settled for becoming a specialised early music ensemble, but chosen instead to create a musical philosophy „al ayre español“ (à la espagnole), has allowed the project to be flexible enough to adapt itself to different formats.
With 30 years of appearances in the top festivals and theaters in Europe, 14 years as a resident orchestra at the Auditorio de Zaragoza, 18 CD recordings, national and international awards (2004 Premio Nacional de Música, among others) and distinctions, as well as a relentless schedule of international performances and events for the coming seasons, there is no doubt that the group from Aragon is one of the most prominent ensembles in Spain.
Throughout those thirty years Al Ayre Español has performed at the most prestigious concert halls: Amsterdam‘s Concertgebouw, Vienna‘s Musikverein and Konzerthaus, Düsseldorf‘s Tonhalle, Berlin‘s Konzerthaus and Philharmonie, the Théatre des Champs Elysées and the Cité de la Musique in Paris, Madrid‘s Teatro Real and Auditorio Nacional, Barcelona‘s Palau de la Musica Catalana and Gran Teatre del Liceu, Hamburg‘s Leiszhalle, Washington‘s Library of Congress, the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, Metz‘s Arsenal, Lisbon‘s Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Bilbao‘s Palacio Euskalduna, Rome‘s Teatro Olimpico, etc.
Al Ayre Español has also been invited to some of the most important festivals: Baden Baden Easter Festival, Bachfestspiele Leipzig, Oude Muziek Utrecht, Internationale Festtage Alter Musik Stuttgart, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Dresdner Musikfestpiele, Festival d‘Ambronay, Handel Festspiele Halle, Oslo Church Music Festival, Praga Spring Festival, Monteverdi Festival (Cremona), Festival en el Camino de Santiago, Festival de Santander, Quincena Musical de San Sebastián, Hong Kong Arts Festival, etc.
Al Ayre Español’s recordings have been produced by labels such as Almaviva, Fidelio, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Harmonia Mundi France, Naïve-Ambroisie and Challenge Records.
Al Ayre Español is sponsored by Industrias Químicas del Ebro and the Ministry of Culture of Spain, and maintains a residence agreement with the Auditorio de Zaragoza. The ensemble has been Zaragoza’s ambassador since 2011.

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Composer(s)

Georg Friedrich Händel

Georg Frideric Handel was a composer from the Baroque period. Handel wrote primarily music-dramatic works: 42 operas, 29 oratorios, more than 120 cantatas, trios and duets, which comes to a total amount of almost 2000 arias! Furthermore, he composed English, Italian and Latin sacred music, serenades and odes. Among his instrumental music are several organ concertos, concerti grossi, overtures, oboe sonatas and violinsonates, along with many solo works for harpsichord and organ. Together with Johann Sebastian Bach, who was born in the same year (1685), Handel is viewed as one of the greatest composers of his time. He was extremely prolific and wrote in total more than 610 works, many of which are still performed today. Compared to his contemporaries Bach, Telemann...

Together with Johann Sebastian Bach, who was born in the same year (1685), Handel is viewed as one of the greatest composers of his time. He was extremely prolific and wrote in total more than 610 works, many of which are still performed today.

Compared to his contemporaries Bach, Telemann and Scarlatti, Handel was by far the most cosmopolitan. When Handel was a child, his father, who was a surgeon at the court of Saxe-Weissenfels, imagined a juridical career for him. But his musical talents did not go unnoticed at the court, which forced the father to let him study music. In Hamburg, Handel befriended Mattheson. Together they visited Buxtehude, the greatest organ player of his time, in 1703 (two years before Bach did). At that time, Handel was already an excellent musician, but it wasn't until his stay in Italy - the land of opera - that his talents and skills truly started to flourish. Back in Germany, he received a position at the court of Hannover, where the noblemen had a connection to the British throne. Thanks to these connections, Handel decided to move to London, after which a puzzling history of intrigues and political games started. For example, it is unclear what the exact political message of his famous Water Music is, which was composed for a boat ride on the river Thames by King George. Initially, Handel focused on Italian opera during his stay in London, but from the 1730s onwards he started composing English spoken oratorios, with the celebrated Messiah at its peak.

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Press

"This interpretation of the sonatas op.5 is quite annoying."
Toccata, 01-5-2016

[''].. So it is big Händel in a small jacket for at home and the music is in itself appealing enough."
Luister, 01-9-2015

["].. Al Ayre Español never shirk from the chance tot exaggerate - even when it undermines good work they do elsewhere."
Gramophone, 01-9-2015

"Who can not enjoy this recording, is no lover of Musick."
WDR TonArt, 26-8-2015

"Once again Eduardo López Banzo and his Ensemble Al Ayre Español let us hear a headstrong Händel. There are high class artists at work whose view on Händel's complex potentials is very interesting." Interpretation 4/5 Sound quality 4/5 Repertoire value 3/5 Booklet 3/5
klassik.com, 24-7-2015

Stars 3/5
Diapason, 01-7-2015

"Spanish passion that suits the dance-like music of Handel very well. A fresh interpretation full of energy!"
Hessischer Rundfunk, 18-6-2015

***
Classica, 01-6-2015