behind him, out of his sight. Thus his directions and his glances would control the Concertino, who would transmit in their turn the chief conductor's wishes to the Concerto Grosso, and they in their turn to the Ripienists. In place of the quasi-military discipline of modern orchestras, controlled under the baton of a chief conductor, the different bodies of the Handelian orchestra governed one another with elasticity, and it was the incisive rhythm of the little Cembalo which put the whole mass into motion. Such a method avoided the mechanical stiffness of our performances. The danger was rather a certain wobbling without the powerful and infectious will-power of a chief such as Handel, and without the close sympathy of thought which was established between him and his capable subconductors of the Concertino and of the Grosso.
It is this elasticity which should be aimed at in the instrumental works of Handel when they are executed nowadays.[1]
. . . . . .
We will first take his Concerti Grossi.[2] None of his works are more celebrated and less understood.
- ↑ "Leichtigkeit der Bewegung und Beweglichkeit des Ausdrucks," as Volbach tells us (suppleness of time and fluidity of expression); these are the essential qualities which alone will revive the true rendering of Handel's works.
- ↑ 12 Grand Concertos for stringed instruments and clavier (Vol. XXX of the Complete Edition), written from September 29 to October 20, 1739, between the little Ode to St. Cecilia and L'Allegro. They appeared in April, 1740. Another volume, of which we will speak later, is known under the name of Oboe Concertos, and contains six Concerti Grossi (Vol. XXI of the Complete Edition). Max Seiffert has published a well-edited practical edition of these concertos (Breitkopf).
