Handel on Guitar Volume 3 : Daniel Estrem

Handel on Guitar Volume 3 by Daniel Estrem

Daniel Estrem : Handel on Guitar Volume 3.
Colorful classical guitar.

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) is regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Baroque era. Born into a family that was indifferent to music; his early talent was so pronounced that his father grudgingly allowed him to receive training in his native Germany. His studies took him to Italy as well, before settling in London (1712) where he became a naturalized British subject in 1727. Although Handel is primarily known for his larger creations (operas, oratorios, motets, passions, cantatas) his smaller scale works are greatly admired and often performed by instrumentalists.

Handel and J. S. Bach were both German-born in 1685 and comparisons are difficult to avoid. Bach's work lay in comparative obscurity for half a century, whereas Handel was internationally renowned in his lifetime. One of the curious ironies of music history is that both men would be afflicted with debilitating cataracts in their later years and undergo surgery at the hand of the same oculist, John Taylor. This surgery by today's standards was extremely crude resulting in very little visual improvement, and of course, there was no anesthesia or sterile-technique at that time. Unfortunately, Bach died as a result of bacterial contamination from the procedure at age 65. Handel lived to age 74.

Throughout his life Handel avoided the rigorous contrapuntal techniques of Bach and achieved his effects through the simplest of means, trusting always his own innate musicianship. Both composers often practiced a kind of musical "recycling" where they would take a work composed for one medium and recast it for another. It would not have been uncommon in Handel's day to hear a recorder concerto played as an organ sonata. Such interchangeability was possible in the more abstract instrumental sound of the Baroque. It remained for later composers to create music whose effect depended mainly on the sound of specific instruments.

Cover art courtesy of Mike Stenhouse on Flickr.com

Songs:

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Release date: 05/04/2016
Daniel Estrem lives in Minnesota USA

Tagged as: Classical, Baroque, Instrumental, Composer: George Frideric Handel, Classical Guitar

Recommended albums:

The Melodious Birde - Keyboard Music By William Byrd by Colin Booth: solo harpsichord music
Patrons of the Lute by Daniel Shoskes: A feast of Baroque lute
Ancient Mosaic with Guitar by La Reverie: Recreating traditional music from a modern perspective
Alessandro Piccinini by Paul Beier: solo lute of the Italian renaissance.
SL Weiss on 11 Strings by Paul Berget: renaissance lute, modernized.
Debut by AlmaNova: lively flute/guitar duo
Old School Old Time by Fiddle Whamdiddle: foot-stomping, heart-pumping, head-bobbing music that snags audiences and reels them in!
Elizabeth's Lutes by Alex McCartney: Reflective, historically-informed performance on the lute
Mesangeau's Experiments by Alex McCartney: Reflective, historically-informed performance on the lute
Les Larmes of Johannes Fresneau by Edward Martin: vihuela, renaissance and baroque lute
Michelagnolo Galilei by Paul Beier: solo lute of the Italian renaissance.
The Siena Manuscript on renaissance lute by Paul Berget: renaissance lute, modernized.
Goldberg Variations (JS Bach) by Andreas Almqvist: elegant classical guitar
Dances and Suites of Rameau and Couperin by American Baroque: Spectacular Baroque and Classical chamber music
JS Bach Goldberg Variations by Colin Booth: solo harpsichord music
The Christmas Album by AlmaNova: lively flute/guitar duo
Adam Falckenhagen and Sylvius Leopold Weiss, Opere Per Liuto by Paul Beier: solo lute of the Italian renaissance.
She Waits by Alan Marchand: Toe Teasin' Jazz Tunes For All Occasions
Orpheus by Federico Moscogiuri: Original and evocative lute music
Toccata - Touched by Alex McCartney: Reflective, historically-informed performance on the lute

Downloads:

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WAV: Perfect quality WAV files. This format works everywhere, and is an exact audio copy of the original CD. It sounds fantastic. Album art and artist info is unfortunately not possible with this format.
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