This CD by The Counterpoints, entitled Italophilia: Discovering the Italian style in Handel’s London, investigates the Italian musical influences on English baroque music in the seventeenth and eighteenth century. Already in 1683, Henry Purcell (1659-1695) had written in the foreword of his Sonatas of three Parts that he had ‘faithfully endeavour’d a just imitation of the most fam’d Italian Masters’. In later years, the impact of these Italian Masters would only increase, reaching its apogee in the work of George Frideric Handel (1685-1759). This CD contextualizes Handel’s work with composers he influenced and was influenced by, both in England and Italy.

This disc is intended to introduce a collection of keyboard instruments in Edinburgh, Scotland, but actually it accomplishes much more. The instruments featured here were built all over Europe, with the majority from the British Isles or France. They date from between 1586 and 1810, with the first example being an Italian virginal and the final one a fortepiano. Along the way come harpsichords of various kinds, a clavichord, and a small organ. Brief but relevant and engaging histories are given for each instrument.

British-born Baroque violinist and conductor Garry Clarke and his Baroque Band, Chicago’s period-instrument orchestra, highlight unfamiliar and thoroughly enjoyable orchestral overtures by 18th-century English composer Maurice Greene, who is otherwise best-remembered for his choral music.
For its second Cedille recording, the “stylish and exciting” (Chicago Tribune) ensemble has selected a program of delightful works with what Clarke calls “whistle-able melodies, easy harmony, and inventive counterpoint” that evoke “the charm of the English countryside and the frivolity of the English 18th century. “Selections from Greene’s “Lessons for the Harpsichord, “performed by ensemble member (and longtime Cedille solo keyboard artist) David Schrader, offer similar pleasures.

When Handel introduced English oratorios to London in the 1730s, he did not confine himself to sacred subjects, exploring also Classical myths, with texts based on Roman and Greek literature. The Choice of Hercules marks Handel’s last realisation of a Classical tale. It started life in 1749 as music for Alceste, but the Covent Garden production was cancelled, leaving Handel with an hour of superb music on his hands. By the summer of 1750 he had adapted several numbers and added new ones, and in 1751 it premiered as ‘an additional New Act’ concluding a performance of the ode Alexander’s Feast. Much of the music from the original conception (the story of a loyal wife who dies to save her husband and is subsequently rescued from the Underworld by Hercules) transferred easily to its new guise, for example the noble opening Sinfonia, originally intended to mark Hercules’ return from the Underworld, now entirely apt for the entrance of the young Hercules in the new drama.