Conductor
Ross Pople's
London Festival Orchestra consists of a group of top players brought together to try new things and see new places -- they've toured in such exotic locales as Paraguay. Their version of Handel's venerable Water Music is in no way shocking, but it's quite distinctive.
Pople removes the sheen of British triumphalism that hangs over many modern-instrument performances of the Water Music, leaving light, airy readings that feel like they're taking place out of doors, on the royal boat ride that made the Water Music famous in the first place. A major plus is the London recording venue: The Warehouse was an actual warehouse that
Pople renovated as an arts center, and it simulates the outdoor quality of the Water Music admirably.
Pople gets the elegant dance feel of Handel's binary movements. Even if the performance here is less likely to leave you whistling Handel's tunes than some others, the charmingly rustic Gigue that closes the Suite No. 3 from the Water Music (track 19) is an example of the attractive way
Pople creates space for the work to breathe. The two-movement Concerto grosso in G minor, Op. 3/3, closes out the disc with a series of ingratiating string textures. Plenty of other recordings of Handel are gutsier or more seductive; few are as balanced or consistent. The listener looking for a recording of Handel's Water Music faces a dizzying variety of choices, but for listeners who prefer the sound of modern instruments, this is a safe and altogether pleasant one.