Marking the 300th anniversary of the premiere of George Frederick Handel's Water Music on July 17, 1717, this Accent release of Laurence Cummings' live performance with the FestspielOrchester Göttingen joins many excellent period versions that have become quite common since the 1980s. The early music boom ensured that this popular work would be constantly available, and there is no shortage of recordings that can match it for historical accuracy and authentic Baroque instrumentation and style. Even the arrangement of the ...
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Marking the 300th anniversary of the premiere of George Frederick Handel's Water Music on July 17, 1717, this Accent release of Laurence Cummings' live performance with the FestspielOrchester Göttingen joins many excellent period versions that have become quite common since the 1980s. The early music boom ensured that this popular work would be constantly available, and there is no shortage of recordings that can match it for historical accuracy and authentic Baroque instrumentation and style. Even the arrangement of the three suites into one continuous performance has been done before, leaving the feeling that little can be tried to one-up the competition, which may be the only drag on enjoying this otherwise perfectly attractive rendition. The inclusion of Handel's Concerto Grosso in C major, "Alexander's Feast" is a refreshing change from the seemingly obligatory use of the Music for the Royal Fireworks as filler, and Cummings and his festival orchestra give a lovely performance that rounds out the...
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