Georg Frideric Handel - BasicRep.com

The volume of Handel's works span every format, but he is best known for his choral works and the Water Music Suites. For original instrument recordings of Water Music and Fireworks, you cannot go wrong with Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert. Pinock manages to avoid the sterile cold feeling you can get with original instrumentation, and while the performers are not razor sharp in their playing, somehow it gives these pieces a warmth and feeling missing in newer recordings. The performances on both CD's are excellent, and these have been re-released at midprice. Pinnock was one of the first to record 'original instrument' versions of Handel's works, and these early 1980's digital recordings are still the best.

Colin Davis' 1966 recording of Messiah with the London Symphony Orchestra has been repackaged as a Philips Duo 2 CD set, and is a great performance and and a good buy. This recording is on modern instruments, however the warmth and beauty of the performance makes this a must-have version. A budget single CD of highlights is available with Andrew Davis and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

A nice introductory CD of different Handel works is Philips Duo: Best Of Handel. This 2 CD set contains Water Music, Royal Fireworks Music, Alexander's Feast Concerto, selections from Messiah, and several other concertos and choral pieces. The recordings are good, and some performances are on modern instruments. Overall, a decent way to sample Handel and become familiar with his works, but you should really try out the Pinnock CDs for really great Water Music and Fireworks recordings.

Royal Fireworks, Alexander's Feast
Conductor: Trevor Pinnock
Orchestra: English Concert
Label: Archiv
Catalog: 447279

Water Music
Conductor: Trevor Pinnock
Orchestra: English Concert
Label: Archiv
Catalog: 471723

Messiah
Conductor: Colin Davis
Orchestra: London SO
Label: Philips Duo
Catalog: 438356

Water Music, Messiah, Royal Fireworks
Label: Philips Duo
Catalog: 454029