A1 AllMusic Review by James Leonard [-] 4+/5 RATING! Although best known for his operas and oratorios along with a couple of occasional orchestral works called Water Music and Fireworks Music, Handel did from time to time turn his compositional attention to the chamber music forms of the late Baroque. This six-disc set on Brilliant released in 2006 collects all Handel's works in the genre in a single, inexpensive package featuring superb performances in 1991 by the English period instrument group L'Ecole d'Orphée. In the flute sonatas, soloist Stephen Preston plays with the kind of warm tone and lyrical phrasing that make Handel's music sound fresh and alive. In the recorder sonatas, Philip Pickett plays with the kind of deep feeling and honest sensitivity that make Handel's music sound even better than it is. And in the violin sonatas and trio sonatas, John Holloway plays with the kind of irresistible energy and unabashed virtuosity that make Handel's music seem fully the equal of their best contemporary competition. With the elegant Micaela Comberti on second violin, the dulcet David Reichenberg on oboe, and the subtle Susan Sheppard on cello as well as either the equally talented John Toll, Robert Woolley, or Lucy Carolan on harpsichord, L'Ecole d'Orphée makes the case for the excellence of Handel's chamber music -- a case only the hard-hearted or hard-headed could dispute. Brilliant's un-remastered digital sound is crisp and clean, but a tad too distant. This extensive survey of Handelʼs chamber music by the ensemble LʼEcole dʼOrphée features leading musicians of the British ‘Early Musicʼ movement. All the players are experienced members of orchestras such as The Academy of Ancient Music, The English Baroque Soloists, The English Concert, London Classical Players, The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and The Taverner Players. Now these six discs are reissued together in one boxed set at budget price. We have already reviewed these recordings within the scope of the Brilliant Classics boxed set Handel: The Masterworks. Philippe Gelinaud wrote that “the whole interpretation is particularly stylish and refined”, and spoke of “the variety of feelings expressed” and “the irresistible melancholic charm”. I fully agree with Philippeʼs comments, and refer our readers to his review of The Masterworks for more details. Yet I would add that the advantage of this CRD boxed set is the attractiveness of its packaging and the superior quality of its documentation (the booklet notes are expertly written by Anthony Hicks and Basil Lam). Brilliant Classicsʼs The Masterworks, admirable though it is in some ways, features no documentation and includes some poor recordings of other works that most Handelians will not require. There are other fine recordings of this repertoire available separately, especially the accounts of Opus 2 and Opus 5 by London Baroque on Harmonia Mundi (France). Nevertheless, these performances by LʼEcole dʼOrphée should form an essential part of every Handelianʼs audio library, and this reissue is without doubt the best edition of them to own. (http://gfhandel.org/recordings/ reviews/chambermusiccrd.htm) In the eighteenth century, money was to be made in publishing by producing chamber music suitable for the home market. A volume of sonatas by Handel would thus give access to his music for all those people who were unable to attend performances but nonetheless would enjoy playing his music at home. Handelʼs Opus 1 was an attempt by John Walsh to cash in on the market. Published in the 1730s this was a period when Handel began to realise the benefits from publishing such works and he would eventually collaborate with Walsh on a number of publishing ventures; however the Opus 1 is purely a pirate issue. In fact, Handel probably chose Walsh as his official publisher mainly because he was the most successful pirate. The Opus 1 sonatas contain a mixture of sonatas for various instruments, some of which might not even be by Handel. The disc of flute sonatas contains the four flute sonatas from Opus 1 along with the three Halle sonatas and another flute sonata which was discovered in the 1980s, so the disc has all of the known flute sonatas. The so-called Halle sonatas were called this by Chrysander because he thought they were early sonatas. In fact, they might not be by Handel at all, but they are fine music nonetheless. Handel would not have expected to hear all of these sonatas played continuously and might even have expected some of them to be played on another instrument, but Stephen Preston plays them infectiously and beautifully. The second disc mixes the Violin sonatas and the Oboe sonatas. This has the advantage of giving us a more variety of timbre when listening to these discs complete. John Hollowayʼs tone on the violin is apt to be a little on the dry side, but David Reichenberg produces a wonderfully mellifluous oboe tone. These are all charming works and Handelʼs melodic felicity shines through. Not knowing the exact provenance of the music can be frustrating as it would be interesting to know more about the dates when the works were composed. As it is, it is pleasant to hear material which is better known in another context (such as an aria) played in its instrumental form. The third disc contains the Opus 2 trio sonatas. These were published by Walsh in 1733. Some movements contain borrowings from the oratorios (Athalia and Esther), but number 2 (in G minor) may be Handelʼs earliest datable composition. And the fourth disc contains the Opus 5 trio sonatas. These were published by Walsh in 1739, by which time Handel was taking more of a pro-active interest in the publishing enterprise; he had edited the Opus 4 Organ concerti for publication. Though the trio sonatas contain music from other works (the Canons anthems, operas from 1734-1735 and Athalia), Handel also wrote new music for these works. Both these two discs are the highlight of this group; the trio sonatas are beautifully played by the members of LʼEcole dʼOrfée. In the Opus 5 trio sonatas, John Holloway and Micaela Comberti are well matched and play this delightful music infectiously. For the Opus 2 trio sonatas they are joined by Stephen Prestonʼs flute and Philip Pickettʼs recorder. The fifth disc further trio sonatas played by John Holloway, Micaela Comberti and Alison Bury; unfortunately here a hint of steeliness creeps in to the violin tone. On the final disc, Philip Pickett and Rachel Beckett play the recorder sonatas. Though Pickett plays brilliantly, by the end of the disc I had the unworthy thought that a whole CD of recorder sonatas, even by Handel, was a little bit too much recorder all in one go, but it makes an excellent disc to dip into – as do they all. This is not concert hall music; it was written (or arranged) for people to play at home. On this recording you get a real feeling of a group of friends interacting with each other and enjoying themselves. I cannot recommend this set too highly. At super budget price the discs are recommendable both to dedicated Handelians and to everyone else. The discs are available separately or as part of the 40 disc Handel Masterworks set. I would advise everyone to buy them. The only fly in the ointment is that Brilliant have issued the discs with no supporting documentation whereas they have also been issued by Regis as a 6 CD set along with some informative notes. Robert Hugill Read more: http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2003/Dec03/ Handel_Chamber.htm#ixzz4R3Uqh6Ep.