Under the title I vanni occulti, ensemble Al Ayre Espanol, led by maestro Eduardo Lopez Banzo offers us it's personal vision of Handel's Sonatas Op. 2. The phrase comes from the oratorio Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno (The Triumph of Time and Dillusion, 1707). The reference to this aria is not anecdotal, because Sonata No. 1 in this Op. 2 contains references to this music- an aspect that, hardly surprisingly, constitutes a characteristic element of the composition technique of the maestro from Halle. Over the course of his life, Handel composed 20 trio sonatas, 12 of which were published in London in two different collections: six sonatas were published in 1733 as Op. 2 and another seven printed in 1739 as Op. 5. In a disguised allusion to the vanitas allegory and the fleeting passage of time, Al Ayre Espanol presents, just three years after it's recording of Op. 5, an introspective version of Op. 2, which completes and, at the same time, complements the group's first rendition of Handel's trio sonatas. The two recordings form a single project that offers the listener a passionate and impassioned, southern and Mediterranean version of this exquisite chamber music. This version is marked by the emergence, with particular expressive intensity, of the two aesthetic poles present in the chamber music universe of Handel: the most contained lyricism combined with the most explosive fury.

Tracklist:

Sonata Op. 2 No. 1 In B Minor, Hwv 386a: I. Andante
Sonata Op. 2 No. 1 In B Minor, Hwv 386a: II. Allegro Ma Non Troppo
Sonata Op. 2 No. 1 In B Minor, Hwv 386a: III. Largo
Sonata Op. 2 No. 1 In B Minor, Hwv 386a: IV. Allegro
Sonata Op. 2 No. 2 In G Minor, Hwv 387: I. Andante
Sonata Op. 2 No. 2 In G Minor, Hwv 387: II. Allegro
Sonata Op. 2 No. 2 In G Minor, Hwv 387: III. Largo
Sonata Op. 2 No. 2 In G Minor, Hwv 387: IV. Allegro
Sonata Op. 2 No. 3 In B-Flat Major, Hwv 388: I. Andante
Sonata Op. 2 No. 3 In B-Flat Major, Hwv 388: II. Allegro
Sonata Op. 2 No. 3 In B-Flat Major, Hwv 388: III. Larghetto
Sonata Op. 2 No. 3 In B-Flat Major, Hwv 388: IV. Allegro
Sonata Op. 2 No. 4 In F Major, Hwv 389: I. Larghetto
Sonata Op. 2 No. 4 In F Major, Hwv 389: II. Allegro
Sonata Op. 2 No. 4 In F Major, Hwv 389: III. Adagio
Sonata Op. 2 No. 4 In F Major, Hwv 389: IV. Allegro
Sonata Op. 2 No. 4 In F Major, Hwv 389: V. Allegro
Sonata Op. 2 No. 5 In G Minor , Hwv 390: I. Larghetto
Sonata Op. 2 No. 5 In G Minor , Hwv 390: II. Allegro
Sonata Op. 2 No. 5 In G Minor , Hwv 390: III. Adagio
Sonata Op. 2 No. 5 In G Minor , Hwv 390: IV. Allegro
Sonata Op. 2 No. 6 In G Minor, Hwv 391: I. Andante
Sonata Op. 2 No. 6 In G Minor, Hwv 391: II. Allegro
Sonata Op. 2 No. 6 In G Minor, Hwv 391: III. Arioso
Sonata Op. 2 No. 6 In G Minor, Hwv 391: IV. Allegro

UPC: 608917279726
Label: Challenge Classics
Release Date: 4.12.19
Format: CD

Handel / Espanol - Trio Sonatas 2 (CD)