BROOK STREET BAND,THE - H?ndel: Sonatas Violin+Basso Continuo (Sealed) (CD)

The Brook Street Band’s passion for the music of George Frideric Handel shines through on this recording of the nine Violin Sonatas by – or attributed to – the Baroque composer. The ensemble’s 10th release for AVIE compliments its critically acclaimed and award-winning discography of a wide variety of Handel’s chamber music and vocal works. Combining consummate artistry with characteristic inquisitiveness, The Brook Street Band – posing the question ‘how many violin sonatas did Handel actually compose?’ – offers nine works composed over a span of 40 years, from the German-born Handel’s early years honing his style in Italy to his later years as a leading light in London. He composed some and his name has been variously ascribed by others, depending on which publisher was cashing in, perhaps in cahoots with the commerically-minded composer. But who really knows and one could ask who cares, especially with music of such colour performed with such panache.