The dramatic overture had its beginnings in Renaissance court entertainments, which often began with a flourish of trumpets. It reached a high point of inspiration in the overtures that George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) composed for his operas and oratorios. This volume presents 60 Handel overtures and sinfonias, originally scored for orchestra, superbly arranged for solo keyboard. They have been reprinted from an extremely rare edition originally printed, probably in the 1750s, by Handel's London publisher, John Walsh.
Happily, these brilliant works have lost nothing in translation of their Handelian vitality and interest. Many of them, such as the overtures to Messiah, Acis and Galatea, Alexander’s Feast, Julius Caesar, the second overture in Solomon (known as the "Arrival of the Queen of Sheba"), and the so-called Water Musick, are very familiar to music lovers. Some will be fresh discoveries for keyboard players.
Together they demonstrate Handel’s exciting theatrical sense, his technical virtuosity in composition, and his dazzling mastery of musical forms, which he often combined into his own unique creations. This edition preserves the original keyboard notation, amazingly precise in its elegant execution and, of course, entirely legible to present-day performers.
Table of contents: Acis and Galatea -- Admetus (Admeto, Re di Tessaglia) -- Admetus, Second overture -- Ætius (Ezio) -- Alcina -- Alexander (Alessandro) -- Alexander Balus -- Alexander Severus (Alessandro Severo) -- Alexander's feast -- Amadis (Amadigi di Gaula) -- Amadis, Second overture -- Ariadne (Arianna in Creta) -- Ariodante -- Arminius (Arminio) -- Arrival of the Queen of Sheba -- Atalanta -- Athalia -- Belshazzar -- Berenice -- Deidamia -- Esther -- Faramondo -- Flavius (Flavio, Re di Longobardi) -- Floridant (Floridante) -- Hercules -- Hymen (Imeneo) -- Joseph [and his brethren] -- Joshua -- Judas Maccabaeus -- Julius Caesar (Giulio Cesare in Egitto) -- Justin (Giustino) -- Lotharius (Lotario) -- Messiah -- Muzio Scevola -- Occasional oratorio -- Orlando -- Otho (Ottone, Rè di Germania) -- Parnasso in Festa, II -- Parthenope (Partenope) -- Pastor Fido, II -- Pastor Fido, II, Second overture -- Porus (Poro, Rè dell'Indie) -- Ptolomy (Ptolemy) (Tolomeo, Rè di Egitto) -- Radamistus (Radamisto) -- Richard the 1st (Riccardo Primo, Rè d'Inghilterra) -- Rinaldo -- Rodelinda (Rodelinda, Regina de'Longobardi) -- Samson -- Saul -- Saul, Second overture -- Scipio (Scipione) -- Semele -- Siroe (Siroe, Rè di Persia) -- Solomon -- Solomon, Second overture -- Sosarmes -- Susanna -- Tamerlane (Tamerlano) -- Theseus (Teseo) -- Water musick -- Xerxes (Serse).
