Gilbert Rowland - Handel: Suites for Harpsichord, Volume 1 (2011)

British harpsichordist Gilbert Rowland, who has recorded well-received versions of works by Soler and Scarlatti, here turns his attention to Handel's suites for harpsichord. These works have been historically neglected, apparently for the mere reason that they are not like Bach's partitas. Published mostly in 1720 and 1733 but dating in some cases from the earliest years of Handel's career, they are brilliant works that effectively fuse the decoration-encrusted French style with joyous Italianate lightness. They can be approached in several different ways. Rowland steers away from tempo variations, offering crisp readings that tend to drive directly forward through a phrase and then pause slightly at its end. He's a bit sober but doesn't try to make the music sound like Bach; sample the Sarabande from the Suite in G minor, HWV 439 (CD 2, track 3), to hear the strong forward momentum in his slow movements. Rowland's technique is clean enough to be exciting, and he applies ornaments intelligently; there's quite a bit of ornamentation, but never a sense that it's covering everything. The unidentified harpsichord Rowland uses is a major attraction with its bright, clear top; less attractive is the church sound, which is not as ponderous as some church recordings but still gives an unnatural hardness to the music. There are a few other contemporary recordings of these suites, beginning with a complete set by Scott Ross some years ago; for a reading that places them much closer to French tradition there are some versions by Sophie Yates. This is a good, straightforward collection for Handel fans, however, and this first volume is the beginning of what would appear to be a planned three-volume set on Britain's Divine Art label.