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Georg Friedrich Händel (1685 – 1759) was a true European. He had a German work ethic, Italian passion and a Dutch head for business. And after training in Germany and Italy, from 1711 he went on to win the hearts of the British. He wooed them with his many operas and oratorios, and with instrumental works like his Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks. Yet during his lifetime, he was renowned not only as an organist, but also as one of the greatest harpsichordists of his day. The public couldn’t get enough of him on the harpsichord, either as a composer or a musician. Evidently times change. However, if we take a closer look at the period during which Handel settled in London, we soon see that people were occupied with the same issues then as they are today. The signing of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 finally brought peace after a long period of war, and with it a lasting balance of power in Europe. It was a historic moment, comparable to the foundation of the European Union. Historic, partly because it was the first time a treaty had been signed not on the battle field but at the negotiating table. For Handel it was a fortunate development as it allowed him to move much more freely around Europe. At the same time, England had not done badly out of the peace deal it had struck in Utrecht. Welfare in the country increased, certainly in London. Handel brought together new and old material, but just what was old and what was new we do not know. Probably some of the work dated from his student days in Germany, some from his years in Italy, and the new material from his time in London. The German folksongs in the Air of the Suite in D Minor and the Passacaille from the Suite in G Major could well have been composed in his German years, as could some of the Fugues. Little is written about this Chaconne & 49 Variations in C Major although they were likely written for Organ or Harpsichord. According to Grove Music, Handel's keyboard pieces were "all probably for harpsichord and written before 1720, unless otherwise stated"; specifically for HWV 485, Grove says "for 2-manual hpd". Source: Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_...). Although originally written for Keyboard, I created this Interpretation of the Air in G Minor (HWV 466) for Clssicaal Guitar Duet.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He enriched established German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's compositions include the Brandenburg Concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Mass in B minor, two Passions, and over three hundred cantatas of which around two hundred survive. His music is revered for its technical command, artistic beauty, and intellectual depth. Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest in and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. He is now generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time. The Ouverture Suite in F Major (BWV 820), is a 6 movement Suite which Johann Sebastian Bach wrote for the clavier (harpsichord or clavichord) is believed to heve been composed in the year 1705. Source: IMSLP (http://imslp.org/wiki/Overture_in_F_m...)). Although originally written for Harpsichord. I created this Arrangement of the Overture from the Ouverture Suite in F Major (BWV 820 No. 1) for String Trio (Violin, Viola & Cello).

Dietrich Buxtehude is probably most familiar to modern classical music audiences as the man who inspired the young Johann Sebastian Bach to make a lengthy pilgrimage to Lubeck, Buxtehude's place of employment and residence for most of his life, just to hear Buxtehude play the organ. But Buxtehude was a major figure among German Baroque composers in his own right. Though we do not have copies of much of the work that most impressed his contemporaries, Buxtehude nonetheless left behind a body of vocal and instrumental music which is distinguished by its contrapuntal skill, devotional atmosphere, and raw intensity. He helped develop the form of the church cantata, later perfected by Bach, and he was just as famous a virtuoso on the organ. This piece in G minor is one of Buxtehude's larger more interesting praeludia. It is a bit unusual in its construction. It consists of a free section, two fugues, and a concluding bass ostinato section. As is common in Buxtehude's praeludia, there is a bit of free rhapsodic material in between the two fugues. The bass ostinato section is particularly peculiar. The ostinato itself is two bars plus one quarter note followed by a bar and three quarters of rest in the bass line. The rests in the bass line create an unusual ground bass, in which the ground is not sounding nearly half the time. On a large North German organ with an aggressive pedal division, this creates a very grand effect with the loud pedal division coming in and out of the texture. Source: AllMusic (https://www.allmusic.com/composition/...). I created this Interpretation of the Prelude & Fugue in G Minor (BuxWV 148) for String Quartet (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).

Johann Sebastian Bach never completed The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080. It is a collection of contrapuntal movements with no definite order of presentation or instrumentation. Movements have been added and taken away from the final score over the years. Since the revival of popular interest in Bach's music in the 1850s, historians have narrowed the margin of error regarding the history and performance of The Art of Fugue with impressive efficiency. What is certain is that it is among the most gripping instrumental works that exists, demonstrating practically every composing technique available to Bach. The work was among his estate; he probably did not discuss the work with anyone, or there would have been more pressure to have its mysteries settled before his passing. His son, Carl Philipp Emmanuel, found and published the work as he found it in 1751, still incomplete. It did not sell well. Originally it was thought that Bach had been working on it and died in a race to finish it. Research has proven that he began the piece in the early 1740s (he died in 1750) and returned to work on it further over the years. It has also intrigued alert listeners to hear the final, unfinished movement trail off with B flat, A, C, B natural, which in German musical terminology translates to the word "BACH." This poignant accident of history has done wonders for the general interest in the piece, though in its day the public considered this just shoddy, and C.P.E. Bach attempted to compensate purchasers with the inclusion of a well-known chorale prelude, which was not related to the rest of the work. Listening to The Art of Fugue is hearing everything available to the composer of fugues, woven together better than any other composer has done, and rife with a sublime poetic energy. Throughout the twentieth century, a tenuously agreed upon arrangement of 22 movements makes up a most likely reliable incarnation of what the composer had in mind. It is slightly longer than 80 minutes in duration and alternates between keyboard and small ensemble as required. Most of it can be played on the keyboard, but exact instrumentation was not necessarily as specific in the early eighteenth century as it would be later on. The theme is not obscured at any point, though he sometimes reverses it, turns it upside down, or both, or combines these variations with the theme's original form, all performed concurrently. Simply writing a good canon takes skill, and what Bach manages with The Art of Fugue cannot be matched by anything in this regard, except perhaps a few of his other works, such as The Musical Offering. In spite of the technical/theoretical maelstrom The Art of Fugue leaves for scholars to wade into, there is nothing about its character to deter the casual listener. The opposite is true; it is almost impossible to find a more benevolent piece of music. One can listen to it for years with only a casual grasp of the greatness that lays amid the scintillating arabesques that pervade the material. Once entered into the world of this work, it will gradually reveal itself to maintain potency greater than most people expect music to be able to contain. Source: AllMusic (http://www.allmusic.com/composition/d...). Although originally written for keyboard, I created this Arrangement of the Contrapunctus I (BWV 1080 No. 1) for String Quartet (2 Violins, Viola & Cello). Sheet music made with MuseScore - https://musescore.com

When taking up Johann Sebastian Bach's various sonatas for accompanied violin, it is important not to confuse those written for violin and harpsichord with those written for violin and continuo. The distinction might at first seem small, but it is in fact quite significant. Beyond the simple question of whether or not one is to include a cello, gamba, or some other bass instrument in addition to the harpsichord -- as would be appropriate in the case of continuo -- Bach's six Sonatas for violin and harpsichord, BWV 1014 - 1019 contain, fully realized keyboard parts, rather than just a figured bass line. And so, while the style may today sound to most people quite identical, those six pieces are quite forward-looking in design, while the two authentic sonatas for violin and continuo, composed in the years before 1720, are quite backward-looking, at least in terms of superficial layout. Such a piece is the Sonata for violin and continuo in G major, BWV 1021, composed sometime during the late Weimar or early Cöthen days (ca.1715 - 1720). BWV 1021 has the usual four movements of a sonata da chiesa type of piece, "Adagio," "Vivace," "Largo," "Presto," the latter three quite brief by comparison with the corresponding movements in the somewhat later violin/harpsichord sonatas. The opening Adagio is a truly splendid binary-form piece in which the violin weaves in and around a lightly strolling bass line at will; a fine continuo hand is required, even more so than is the norm, to fill out the harmonies without obtruding on either of the two already present characters. The following wisp of a Vivace seems almost an addendum to the spacious opening movement, but its elegant triple meter and graceful violin multiple-stops move it forward into a space, albeit a small one, all its own. In the E minor Largo, the violin again muses free-form over an all-defining bass; the movement ends, as is usual, in a half-cadence from which the final Presto springs. Source: AllMusic (http://www.allmusic.com/composition/s...). Although originally written for Violin & continuo , I created this Arrangement of the Sonata in G Major (BWV 1021) for Flute & Classical Guitar.

Like Alexander's Feast, the composer's more famous work in honor of the patron saint of music, George Frideric Handel's Ode for St. Cecilia's Day, HWV 76, is a setting of texts written in honor of Saint Cecilia by John Dryden in 1697. Perhaps inspired by the sweeping success of Alexander's Feast (composed and first performed in 1736), Handel revisited Dryden's ode three years later to create a new, shorter work. The circumstances of the November 22, 1739, Lincoln's Inn Fields premiere of HWV 76 were something of an omen of things to come: the Ode for St. Cecilia's Day was presented as little more than a prelude to Alexander's Feast, and indeed the work has remained in the shadow of its sister piece ever since. The Ode is of very considerable merit, however; the three choruses contained within it are among the finest ever crafted by the composer, and the six arias are of equally high quality. HWV 76 is properly an ode and not an oratorio; there is no plot, but rather a series of recitatives, arias, choruses, and instrumental pieces that extol the praises of the St. Cecilia (a third century martyr). Handel's score is for soprano and tenor soloists, the usual SATB chorus, and a colorful orchestra made up of strings, continuo, flute, double reeds, trumpets and timpani. Handel's tendency to borrow music from himself and other composers is famous, and indeed, essentially all of the melodies contained in the Ode for St. Cecilia's Day were lifted straight from the keyboard pieces of Gottlieb Muffat's Componimenti musicali (published ca. 1739). However, the working-out of this pre-fab material over the course of the Ode is entirely Handel's own. The musical subject of Dryden's ode provides a sure footing for all sorts of musical text-painting and allusion. The Ode falls loosely into two halves, each of which ends with a chorus, and which are separated by an orchestral March. The work's two-part overture was taken from, or perhaps used as the model for, the composer's own Concerto grosso, Op. 6, No. 5, composed around the same time. The singing begins with a recitative for tenor solo, "From harmony, from heav'nly harmony," the text of which is immediately echoed in the first of the three choruses. The soprano follows with the stunning but graceful aria "What passion cannot Music raise and quell," and the boisterous tenor counters with "The Trumpet's loud clangor," immediately taken up by the chorus. A succession of four arias--three for soprano, one for tenor (but that one the delightful "Violins proclaim")--begins the second half of the Ode for St. Cecilia's Day. A soprano recitative ("But bright Cecilia rais'd the wonder high'r") prefaces the final chorus ("As from the pow'r of sacred lays" / "The dead shall live"), itself a spectacular example of Handel's choral writing. It moves seamlessly from the opening soprano solo to a purely choral climax and finale in which the composer displays his contrapuntal wizardry in a stunning double fugue. Source: Allmusic (https://www.allmusic.com/composition/...). Although originally written for Mixed Chorus & Baroque Orchestra, I created this Interpretation of the Chorus: "From harmony, from heavenly harmony" from "Ode for St. Cecilia's Day" (HWV 76 Mvt. 3) for Winds (Flute, Oboe, A Clarinet, English Horn, French Horn & Bassoon) & Strings (2 Violins, Viola & Cello). Sheet music made with MuseScore - https://musescore.com

Johann Pachelbel (~1653 - 1706) was a German composer known for his works for organ and one of the great organ masters of the generation before J.S. Bach. Pachelbel studied voice at Altdorf and Stevenensburg and held posts as organist in Vienna, Stuttgart, and other cities. In 1695 he was appointed organist at the St. Sebalduskirche in Nürnberg, where he remained until his death. He also taught organ, and one of his pupils was Johann Christoph Bach, who in turn gave his younger brother Johann Sebastian Bach his first formal keyboard lessons. All Pachelbel's work is in a contrapuntally simple style. His own organ compositions show a knowledge of Italian forms derived from Frescobaldi through J.J. Froberger. Of special importance are his chorale preludes, which did much to establish the chorale melodies of Protestant northern Germany in the more lyrical musical atmosphere of the Catholic south. His popular Canon in D Major was written for three violins and continuo and was published with a gigue in the same key. His son, Wilhelm Hieronymous Pachelbel, was also an organist and composer. Source: AllMusic (https://www.allmusic.com/composition/...). Although originally created for Organ, I created this Arrangement of the Chorale: "Vom Himmel hoch, da komm' ich her" (From Heaven on High The Angels Sing) for String Trio (Violin, Viola & Cello). Sheet music made with MuseScore - https://musescore.com

After arriving in Prague in 1724, Jan Zach initiated studies with Bohuslav Cernohorsky and accepted several musical posts, including those as violinist at St. Gallus and at St. Martin and then those as organist at St. Martin, at the monastic church of the Merciful Brethren, and at the Minorite chapel of St. Ann. Following various travels, he was appointed Kapellmeister at the court of the Prince-Elector of Mainz. His compositions, many of which were rhythmically influenced by Czech dances, include masses, requiems, arias, Misereres, vespers, hymns, sinfonias, partitas, sonatas, preludes, fugues, and concertos. He also worked as a music teacher at the Jesuit school in Munich and spent the majority of his later years traveling throughout Europe. Zach's compositions are almost exclusively recorded under the Arte Nova label, especially his vocal and choral works. His Miserere in C minor and his Offertorium, Terra tremit in C were both recorded in the 1980s, while his Missa Solemnis in D and Stabat Mater in D minor were recorded in 1995 and 1997, respectively. One of Zach's masses was performed at the coronation of the Emperor Franz I. He traveled for a brief period in Italy the influence of which appears in his music particularly the instrumental sinfonias and concertos which were set in three movements employing parallel sixths and thirds, Alberti bass, and occasionally heavy ornamentation. For various conflicts in personality Zach was dismissed in 1756. from then until the end of his life he traveled, performed, sold copies of his music and taught. The exceptional range in his music is probably indicative of his own complicated personality. Resulting musical compositions range from the melancholy to the vital. Zach wrote instrumental and sacred compositions which included characteristics of Czech dance rhythms, homophony, and polyphony. The "Requiem in C minor" employed considerable use of chromaticism. Zach's instrumental sinfonias and concertos were often scored for strings and wind instruments alike in which he set the works with the aforementioned Italian characteristics. Source: AllMusic https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jan-z... ). Although originally composed for Pipe Organ, I created this Interpretation of the Prelude & Fugue in C Minor (KomZ A4) for Woodwind Quartet (Flute, Oboe, Bb Clarinet & Bassoon).

After arriving in Prague in 1724, Jan Zach initiated studies with Bohuslav Cernohorsky and accepted several musical posts, including those as violinist at St. Gallus and at St. Martin and then those as organist at St. Martin, at the monastic church of the Merciful Brethren, and at the Minorite chapel of St. Ann. Following various travels, he was appointed Kapellmeister at the court of the Prince-Elector of Mainz. His compositions, many of which were rhythmically influenced by Czech dances, include masses, requiems, arias, Misereres, vespers, hymns, sinfonias, partitas, sonatas, preludes, fugues, and concertos. He also worked as a music teacher at the Jesuit school in Munich and spent the majority of his later years traveling throughout Europe. Zach's compositions are almost exclusively recorded under the Arte Nova label, especially his vocal and choral works. His Miserere in C minor and his Offertorium, Terra tremit in C were both recorded in the 1980s, while his Missa Solemnis in D and Stabat Mater in D minor were recorded in 1995 and 1997, respectively. One of Zach's masses was performed at the coronation of the Emperor Franz I. He traveled for a brief period in Italy the influence of which appears in his music particularly the instrumental sinfonias and concertos which were set in three movements employing parallel sixths and thirds, Alberti bass, and occasionally heavy ornamentation. For various conflicts in personality Zach was dismissed in 1756. from then until the end of his life he traveled, performed, sold copies of his music and taught. The exceptional range in his music is probably indicative of his own complicated personality. Resulting musical compositions range from the melancholy to the vital. Zach wrote instrumental and sacred compositions which included characteristics of Czech dance rhythms, homophony, and polyphony. The "Requiem in C minor" employed considerable use of chromaticism. Zach's instrumental sinfonias and concertos were often scored for strings and wind instruments alike in which he set the works with the aforementioned Italian characteristics. Source: AllMusic https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jan-z... ). Although originally composed for Pipe Organ, I created this Interpretation of the Prelude & Fugue in C Minor (KomZ A4) for Woodwind Quartet (Flute, Oboe, Bb Clarinet & Bassoon).

The St Luke Passion (German: Lukas-Passion), BWV 246, is a Passion setting formerly attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach. It is included in the BWV catalog under the number 246. Now it appears in the catalogues under the heading apocryphal or anonymous. A surviving manuscript of the St Luke Passion from about 1730 is partly in Bach's hand, though scholars believe that the music is certainly not his own. Presumably Bach performed it, or intended to perform it, in Leipzig. C. P. E. Bach and Agricola may have mistaken it for a work of Bach's and thus included it in their census. Of course, given his delight in exhaustive cycles, Bach should have composed a St Luke Passion. Apparently J. S. Bach took the anonymous St Luke Passion and arranged it for four voices, chorus, orchestra, and continuo to meet an urgent deadline for Good Friday in 1730. With regard to the authorship of the passion, Felix Mendelssohn commented in a letter to Franz Hauser who had just paid a large sum of money to purchase the Lukaspassion: "I am sorry to hear you have given so much money for the St. Luke Passion." Mendelssohn repudiated Bach's authorship of the work upon the evidence of a single chorale, 'Weide mich und mach' mich satt' (No. 9). He continued, "No doubt, as an authentic autograph, it would be worth the price. But it is not by Bach. You ask, 'On what grounds do you maintain your opinion?' I answer, on intrinsic evidence, though it is unpleasant to say so, since it is your property. But just look at the chorale, 'Weide mich und mach' mich satt'! If that is by Sebastian, may I be hanged! It certainly is in his handwriting, but it is too clean. Evidently he copied it. 'Whose is it?' you ask; 'Telemann, or M. Bach, or Altnichol?' Jung Nichol or plain Nichol, how can I tell? It's not by Bach. Probably it is of North German origin." Source: Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Luke...). I created this arrangement of the Chorale: "Nun ruh' Erlöser in der Gruft" (Now rest, Redeemer, in the tomb) for Classical Guitar

The St Luke Passion (German: Lukas-Passion), BWV 246, is a Passion setting formerly attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach. It is included in the BWV catalog under the number 246. Now it appears in the catalogues under the heading apocryphal or anonymous. A surviving manuscript of the St Luke Passion from about 1730 is partly in Bach's hand, though scholars believe that the music is certainly not his own. Presumably Bach performed it, or intended to perform it, in Leipzig. C. P. E. Bach and Agricola may have mistaken it for a work of Bach's and thus included it in their census. Of course, given his delight in exhaustive cycles, Bach should have composed a St Luke Passion. Apparently J. S. Bach took the anonymous St Luke Passion and arranged it for four voices, chorus, orchestra, and continuo to meet an urgent deadline for Good Friday in 1730. With regard to the authorship of the passion, Felix Mendelssohn commented in a letter to Franz Hauser who had just paid a large sum of money to purchase the Lukaspassion: "I am sorry to hear you have given so much money for the St. Luke Passion." Mendelssohn repudiated Bach's authorship of the work upon the evidence of a single chorale, 'Weide mich und mach' mich satt' (No. 9). He continued, "No doubt, as an authentic autograph, it would be worth the price. But it is not by Bach. You ask, 'On what grounds do you maintain your opinion?' I answer, on intrinsic evidence, though it is unpleasant to say so, since it is your property. But just look at the chorale, 'Weide mich und mach' mich satt'! If that is by Sebastian, may I be hanged! It certainly is in his handwriting, but it is too clean. Evidently he copied it. 'Whose is it?' you ask; 'Telemann, or M. Bach, or Altnichol?' Jung Nichol or plain Nichol, how can I tell? It's not by Bach. Probably it is of North German origin." Source: Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Luke...). I created this arrangement of the Chorale: "Nun ruh' Erlöser in der Gruft" (Now rest, Redeemer, in the tomb) for Classical Guitar