The
Akademie für alte Musik, founded in what was then East Berlin, is one of the venerable historical-performance groups but continues to make fresh and listenable music even as many of the group's peers have fallen by the wayside. A case in point is this release from the PentaTone label, inaugurating a new series devoted to
Handel's Concerti Grossi. The group's performances of
Handel have been big and lush compared to others in the historical-performance field, and this set is no exception: listen to the dramatic opening Grave of the Concerto Grosso in D minor, Op. 3, No. 5.
Akademie für alte Musik's playing is expressive, with a humorous tinge in places. The
Handel Op. 3 set is less coherent than the composer's later works in the genre; it was assembled by a publisher, from concertos, three-section opera overtures, and more, composed over a 20-year period. It is all echt
Handel, however, and there are many fine examples of compelling Handelian melody. (The "Op. 3, No. 4b" showing up on some online services, not by
Handel, is erroneous; what is heard is the actual Concerto Grosso in F major, Op. 3, No. 4.) The varied orchestration has the effect, as it no doubt did in
Handel's time, of making the group of works listenable as a set. The Op. 3, No. 6 concerto consists of two mismatched movements, the second of which is for organ and orchestra. It was included by
Handel's publisher
Walsh as an ad for an upcoming set of
Handel organ concertos, but again, the varied settings showcase the consistently strong instrumental works of the winds in this conductorless group. These might be slightly old-fashioned
Handel performances, but the factors that made the
Akademie für alte Musik attractive in the first place are all still operative. The over-resonant and unidiomatic church sound, obscuring some of that fine instrumental work, is the only real disincentive.