«“We can say that Hӓndel, in particular, cannot be easily overcome by anyone in his cleverness on the organ, if not maybe by Bach from Lipsia”. With this very flattering judgment of 1739 Johann Mattheson, famous German composer and theorist of the XVIII century, allows us to discover an almost unfamiliar characteristic of the composer of Halle’s production, nowadays known most of all for his works and oratorios. It was really for his oratorios that Hӓndel wrote between 1735 and 1736 the six concerts for organ, strings and basso continuo op.4, that he performed himself in-between his monumental sacred works. In any case, it is not at all about simple occasional works, conceived to pleasantly entertain the public waiting for the restarting of the “real performing”, but pieces of remarkable artistic depth, in which the composer used virtuosic passages and singing movements. These six beautiful works are performed in this CD by Massimo Gabba, as seen before in Elegia Classics.

Additional info about this CD
Recorded: in chiesa di San Francesco d’Assisi, Moncalvo (AT), Italy, on November 2018

12 pages full colour booklet (Ita and Eng)

Musicology comment
Artist biography

Full organ specs card included