Organ Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 4, HWV 289

Handel wrote these concertos to perform himself during interval breaks at his own oratorio productions in Covent Garden, essentially inventing the organ concerto as a public genre. The first concerto opens with a stately Larghetto in G minor where the organ trades formal ritornello themes with the strings, much like an operatic aria with solo voice answering the orchestra. It closes with a minuet in G major followed by two variations, the strings dropping to near-silence while the organ carries delicate figuration above a spare continuo.

What to listen for

In the second movement Allegro, the organ launches into rapid semiquaver runs, quick repeated notes in even sixteenth-note patterns, that are then cut short by full string tuttis, and this push-and-pull repeats with a different surprise each time the orchestra re-enters. Notice also the brief Adagio third movement, barely a minute long, which functions as a slow pivot between the energetic Allegro and the final minuet rather than a full statement in itself.

Recommended rendition

Simon Preston with The English Concert, conducted by Trevor Pinnock (Archiv Produktion, 1984), has been frequently cited for its crisp articulation and period-instrument authenticity.

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