Handel’s celebrated music for George I’s barge party down the Thames from Whitehall Stairs to Chelsea has been traditionally arranged into three suites. However, the earliest known manuscript copy, dating from 1718 (found in the archive of the Royal Society of Musicians in 2004), contains all of the movements in only one long suite – confirming a suspicion that scholars entertained for some time that the three-suite structure is not an authentic indication of what was performed on July 17, 1717. Despite acknowledging this correct historical information, Ivan A Alexandre’s booklet-note justifies Marc Minkowski’s retention of the three-suite arrangement on the grounds of dramatic structure and pacing of musical material. I’m not persuaded by the argument; and the artistic viability of the single-suite theory has been advocated effectively in superb recordings by Tafelmusik (Sony, 7/96R) and L’Arte dell’Arco (CPO, 11/08). However, adherence to the customary three-suite form does little harm to the world, and there is no hint of complacency or perfunctory over-reverence in the playing of Les Musicians du Louvre.

Minkowski’s interpretation has plenty of tautness and verve (at its frequent best) or breathless abrasiveness (at its occasional worst); the vigour and force of quick movements can be dashing (in both senses of the term), but a lack of sophisticated charm in animated passages undermines the appeal of Minkowski’s concentrated “dramatic” snappiness (eg the first appearance of the braying horns), and sometimes one yearns for more convivial airiness and a more polished blend from the strings. Passages for horns and oboes have punchy impact in the Allegro of the “Suite in F” (although rhythmical pulse is too loose for my taste), whereas the ensuing Air is more cautious than usual. The trumpets play with incisive attack during the Alla Hornpipe of the “Suite in D”, although the Lentement is pedantically lugubrious and the ridiculous rushing of the concluding Bourée evokes an image of Speedy Gonzales. The most enduring music-making is the slower or gentler movements of the “Suite in G”, with Minkowski embracing the lyrical sustained lines wholeheartedly and with emotional warmth (eg the flutes in the first part, or the gracefully lilting country dance, replete with jovial bassoons). The disc is rounded off by a spirited performance of the overture and suite from Rodrigo. Paid-up fans of Minkowski will find plenty to enjoy here but critical observers won’t be convinced by everything.