Handel for Trumpet: Concertos and Arias Re-Imagined (Jonathan Freeman-Attwood)
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Jonathan Freeman-Attwood
Genre:
Chamber
Label: Linn Records
Magazine Review Date: 02/2024
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 79
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: CKD736
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Rodelinda, Movement: ~ |
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Anna Szałucka, Piano Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Composer |
(6) Concerti grossi, Movement: No 4, F |
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Anna Szałucka, Piano Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Composer |
Giove in Argo, Movement: Nel passar da un laccio all’altro |
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Anna Szałucka, Piano Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Composer |
(16) Concertos for Organ and Strings, Movement: F, 'Cuckoo and the Nightingale', HWV295 (1739) |
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Anna Szałucka, Piano Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Composer |
Semele, Movement: ~ |
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Anna Szałucka, Piano Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Composer |
Ariodante, Movement: ~ |
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Anna Szałucka, Piano Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Composer |
Berenice, Movement: Se il mio amor fu il tuo delitto |
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Anna Szałucka, Piano Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Composer Tom Freeman-Attwood, Trumpet |
(12) Concerti grossi, Movement: No. 4 in A minor, HWV322 |
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Anna Szałucka, Piano Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Composer |
Solomon, Movement: ~ |
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Anna Szałucka, Piano Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Composer |
Alessandro, Movement: Brilla nell'alma |
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Anna Szałucka, Piano Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Composer Tom Freeman-Attwood, Trumpet |
(3) Concerti a due cori, Movement: B flat |
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Anna Szałucka, Piano Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Composer |
Theodora, Movement: ~ |
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Anna Szałucka, Piano Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Composer Tom Freeman-Attwood, Trumpet |
Agrippina, Movement: ~ |
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Anna Szałucka, Piano Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Composer |
Author: Charlotte Gardner
Mozart, Strauss, 17th-century English madrigals … to say that (our own) Jonathan Freeman-Attwood and Timothy Jones’s series of ‘reimaginings’ of historical repertoire for modern trumpet and piano has taken us down some fascinating and unexpected alleys over the years is a glorious understatement. Now, for their 10th and final album, they’ve decided that the trumpet shall sound on Handel, recasting four of his concertos as trumpet sonatas, interspersed with arias and duets from operas and oratorios, plus an abridged version of the Eight Great Suites for keyboard, Suite No 3 in D minor, HWV428.
It’s a funny thing, but while ‘Handel for Trumpet’ doesn’t on paper sound like one of their most daring ventures, even when we’re talking transcriptions, the finished results feel like some of the most intrepidly complete transformations this pair have yet come up with – the cumulative effect of the works chosen, the modern piano being played in a ‘modern’ manner, Freeman-Attwood’s own modern legato’d finesse, the utter intimacy and sensitivity of their sound, and the warmly balanced recording, placing piano gently in the foreground.
‘But do you actually like it?’ I hear you ask. To which the answer is yes. For a moment of time-standing-still loveliness, head to the opening Larghetto from Sonata No 3 in E flat major – formerly the organ concerto The Cuckoo and the Nightingale in F – to enjoy amiably poised piano grace, concluding on a gently profound ritardando, before a deliciously delicate and light-of-touch, cuckooing Allegro, its dialogue and voicing beautifully realised, with Freeman-Attwood making nimble work of the rapid passagework and ornamentations. I’ve also found myself repeatedly charmed by the almost vocal-feeling portamento he brings to the first phrase of the limpid, gorgeously shaped Larghetto affettuoso opening Sonata No 2 in F minor – formerly the Concerto grosso in A minor, Op 6 No 4.
For another up-tempo treat, ‘Brilla nell’alma’ from Alessandro is one of several guest appearances from Freeman-Attwood’s trumpeter son Tom, and their interweavings and imitative overlappings are radiantly dispatched, respective tones and phrasing embracing each other; add Anna Szałucka’s crystalline piano voice and the richness of the overall effect constantly feels greater than the sum of its parts. I also can’t not mention the aforementioned Suite No 3 in its new incarnation as a Prelude, Allemande and Fugue, Szałucka exploding in with her pedal point, then Freeman-Attwood’s entry working a transformative softening to create a sort of poetic, Baroque-meets-Romantic trio sonata feel. If I have one question mark, it’s whether the ‘And the glory of the Lord’ Allegro ma non troppo of their Sonata No 4 in A (Concerto a due cori in B flat, HWV332) completely works, shorn of so many voices. But still, full marks for bravery, and certainly they catch its buoyancy and glow.
In a nutshell, brave, bonkers and brilliantly executed.
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