George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) was a German-born Baroque composer who settled in London and became a naturalised British subject. He is celebrated for his operas, English oratorios, organ concertos and orchestral works.
Born in Halle, he trained in Italy before making England his home. His English oratorios, above all Messiah, reshaped sacred music for the concert hall, while Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks remain among the best-loved orchestral scores of the age. He brought Italian opera to a high point in London, created the English oratorio and the organ concerto as lasting genres, and left a body of anthems, concerti grossi and keyboard music still central to performance.
His Opus 4 organ concertos, given here in the composer’s own arrangements for organ alone on Six Organ Concertos (MCD 289), show that dramatic flair at full stretch. Early Italian cantatas from his years in Rome, Naples and Venice appear on Handel: Italian Cantatas (TP173), full of operatic fire for voice and continuo.
George Frideric Handel is featured on the following titles
Capella Corelli Plays Handel and Telemann
Capella Corelli has long been one of Australia’s foremost baroque chamber ensembles. Here they present sonatas by Handel and Telemann for baroque violin, recorder, viola da gamba and harpsichord.
Six Organ Concertos - G. F. Handel
These ever-popular concertos by Handel appear here in the composer's own arrangements for organ alone, played on the historic 1888 George Fincham organ in Richmond Uniting Church.
Compositions by George Frideric Handel also appear on
The Pleyel Harpsichord
Roger Heagney plays one of the last harpsichords made by the French Pleyel piano company (1963). Founded in 1807, Pleyel built pianos until 2014. The Concert Grand Harpsichord offers a distinctive sound and seven-pedal colour.
North of the Yarra: Organs of Melbourne
Gordon Atkinson plays seven of Melbourne's finest organs, from the oldest surviving city instrument to the giant Town Hall organ, including St Patrick's Cathedral, The Scots' Church, St Paul's Cathedral and St Mary Star of the Sea, West Melbourne.
Transcriptions Baroque
Recorded in Trinity College Chapel, Melbourne, this disc pairs trumpeter Anthony Pope with organist Dominic Perissinotto across eight Baroque concertos. Four are heard on trumpet with organ accompaniment; the rest are solo organ transcriptions by celebrated organists of their day.
After the Deluge (Original Soundtrack)
Award-winning Australian film composer Cezary Skubiszewski’s soundtrack to the acclaimed mini-series After the Deluge. Scored for orchestra and choir, it ranges from haunting violin solos to 40s jazz, Irish airs and on-screen band pop.
Carillon and Organ
Enjoy the spectacular sound of organ and carillon as never before. Recorded at the University of Sydney, this disc features organist Amy Johansen and master carillonneur Jill Forrest in music drawn from the University's ceremonial life.
The Convict Harpsichordist
John Grant, frustrated in love, shot a London lawyer in the buttock and was sentenced to death at the Old Bailey. Granted a reprieve, he reached Sydney Cove in 1804 with Australia’s first harpsichord. What music did he play? Elizabeth Anderson answers on the instrument he brought.
Tuba Recital
One of the world’s finest tuba players, and the first to give a tuba recital in Australia, Ian King presents a programme from Bach and Vivaldi through to Paul Hindemith’s remarkable Sonata for Tuba and Piano.
Concert Organ Masterpieces
Masterpieces from the concert organ repertoire, played by Thomas Heywood on the restored Hill organ at St John’s Church, Toorak. The programme draws on his 1997 Grand Organ Concerts at the church.
Bolero: Music for Organ 4 Hands
Douglas Lawrence and Elizabeth Anderson play organ four hands on the Melbourne Concert Hall’s French-style Casavant. Bolero gathers favourites and rarities arranged or written for two players at one console.
Bizarre or baRock
Elizabeth Anderson explores harpsichord music across four centuries: from Conceição’s raw 17th-century battle piece and traditional Baroque repertoire to jazz, blues, Gershwin and the Beatles with drums and bass. Weird, wild, wacky and wonderful – you’ve never heard the harpsichord like this.
Organ at the Opera
One of Move's all-time best sellers. Sydney City organist Robert Ampt and Amy Johansen play popular organ duets on the famous Ronald Sharp organ in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall.
The Virtuoso Harpsichord
Melbourne harpsichordist Jacqueline Ogeil presents the instrument’s virtuosic, dramatic and passionate sides, from Bach and Scarlatti to Handel, Rameau and the premiere of Naji Hakim’s suite Shasta.
Historic Organs of the Barossa Valley, Vol. 1
Christopher Dearnley and John Stiller give striking performances on six historic church organs of South Australia’s Barossa Valley. A 16-page booklet traces the instruments, their builders and the music.
Just Married: Organ Music for a Wedding
A compilation of history's most celebrated organ music, long popular at weddings. The insert notes usefully group the tracks as processionals, recessionals and music for the signing of the register.
Centenary Plus
Sydney City Organist Robert Ampt plays the restored William Hill and Son Grand Organ at Sydney Town Hall in a programme spanning more than a century of music linked with the instrument, from Handel and Bach to Koehne, Dubois, Best and Ampt.
Bamboo Organ
Douglas Lawrence and the Manila Chamber Orchestra. Manila's suburb of Las Piñas boasts the world's only organ with pipes made from bamboo. Solo pieces and Handel's Organ Concerto in G minor show the instrument's range; a bonus disc interviews the restorer.
Baroque Trumpet and Strings
Sonatas and suites by Corelli, Torelli, Telemann, Purcell and Handel sit beside rarely heard works by Molter, Grossi and Biber, several recorded here for the first time on original instruments.
A Baroque Collection
Douglas Lawrence plays Baroque organ masterworks on Jürgen Ahrend’s acclaimed instrument in Monash University’s Robert Blackwood Hall, a programme spanning Zipoli to Buxtehude.
Festival of Organ Masterpieces
Douglas Lawrence plays favourite organ repertoire on the instrument of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne, spanning nearly three centuries of transcriptions and original works.
Two
Two brings together Marais Project founding members Jennifer Eriksson, viola da gamba, and Tommie Andersson, gallichon, theorbo and baroque guitar. Each plays alternate brackets of solos before they join in a splendid suite by Marin Marais.
Automne: Changing Colours of Harp Music
From classical to folk, from sweeping glissandi to the strikingly contemporary, the range and diversity of the harp always entrances and amazes.
Lobe den Herren
Anthony Halliday gives a varied organ recital on the historic instrument at Melbourne's Trinity Lutheran Church. The programme runs from grand Bach works through Mozart and a Bach–Vivaldi concerto to his own transcription of the finale of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.
Looking to the Light: Songs of Christmas
Looking to the Light is an easy-listening Christmas collection of favourites such as O Holy Night, The Little Drummer Boy, Ave Maria and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, with Australian carols, lesser-known songs and children's numbers including All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth and I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.
Hamilton
The Team of Pianists present a programme of excellent piano works for solo, duo and two pianos, spanning popular classics and Australian repertoire.