Concerto Grosso in C minor, Op. 6, No. 8, HWV 326: String Orchestra, Solo Strings with Ensemble, Conductor Score & Parts

George Frideric Handel's (1685-1759) CONCERTI GROSSI, Op. 6 (also TWELVE GRAND CONCERTOS, HWV 319-330), are a collection of twelve concerti grossi for two violins and cello with an accompanying four-part string orchestra and harpsichord continuo, and they are among the best examples of the Baroque concerto grosso. Modeled more on Arcangelo Corelli's concerto da chiesa and concerto da camara than on Antonio Vivaldi's three-movement form adopted by J.S. Bach, these 1739 works were composed to be performed during the intermissions of Handel's oratorios. Among the twelve Concerto Grosso can be found a mixture of original music and music borrowed from other works by the composer. No. 8 in C minor, HWV 326, borrows heavily from other sources, including: in the allemande, a reworking of the first movement of Handel's second harpsichord suite from his third set (No. 16), HWV 452, in G minor; at the beginning, the first measure is a direct transposition of PIÈCES DE CLAVECIN by Johann Mattheson; the 4-note figure in the third movement recalls a quartet from Handel's APRIPPINA; in the fourth movement, Handel quotes the opening ritornello from Cleopatra's aria "Piangerò la sorte mia" from the third act of his GIULIO CESARE; the fifth movement recycles some discarded material that he had written for SAUL, the aria "Love from sucha parent born." Instrumentation: Str Hpchrd: Str (2.2.2.1.1 in set): Soli 2Vn.Vc. This urtext edition has been edited by Wilhelm Weismann. Reprint edition.