Thanks to the many uncertainties, transcriptions and overlappings of Handel's chamber music output, definitions of 'Handel's Recorder Sonatas' tend to differ from one recording to the next. In this case, we have a relatively uncontroversial offering: the six sonatas allocated to the recorder in Handel's own hand, plus an extra one, HWV378, originally written for transverse flute, and the only one of the composer's various sonatas for flute, violin or oboe which Peter van Heyghen feels can be legitimately transferred to the recorder without undue alteration.
Rather more to the point, the performances are of a uniformly high technical standard. Van Heyghen is well in control of his instrument, showing rock-solid intonation and breath control, clean passagework and a natty line in florid ornamentation. Kris Verhelst also has a nimble set of fingers, enabling her not just to keep up with some fairly fleet tempos but also ultimately to provide most of the music's driving force. For the fact is that van Heyghen's playing, for all its accomplishment, is rather on the straight side; indeed one might even say that, were the ornaments to be taken away, you would be left with something rather unimaginative. Phrase endings in particular are often bland and unlovely. Not, I imagine, that the sound balance helps, being somewhat close, and wasteful of the church acoustic in which the recordings were made. Furthermore the harpsichord - no doubt in reaction to van Heyghen's decision to dispense with a doubling bass-line instrument - is too loud. Basically good performances then, but something more than that is needed.'