Eight Great Suites for Keyboard HWV 426-433

Today, Handel is best known for his many vocal masterpieces. However, during his lifetime, more copies of his keyboard works were in circulation than Bach's or Scarlatti's. A famed virtuoso and improviser, much of Handel's harpsichord music never written down. However, in 1720, not long after he had settled in England, a collection of eight 'Great Suites' was issued in London. Published by the composer himself, it includes works from both his Hamburg and English periods. The music's tone is heroic, balancing secular Italianate panache with French nobility and decorum. Performed here by Richard Egarr, this magnificent collection demonstrates Handel's unique 'orchestral' keyboard style and grand sweep.