Handel: Concerti grossi, op. 3

Status of copy at Case Memorial Library
Anne Midgette wrote in the New York Times: "When Christopher Hogwood founded the Academy of Ancient Music in 1973, the early-music movement was often equated with dry playing and odd sounds from obdurate period instruments. On Thursday night, while watching and listening to the group in a delightfully engaging concert at Zankel Hall, it was striking how much freedom this movement now affords. … The academy certainly showed off a vibrant personality on this stop on its first album tour under Mr. Hogwood’s successor, the gifted keyboard player Richard Egarr. The album, which came out in February, is devoted to Handel’s Concerti Grossi (Op. 3), a collection of music both scintillating and disparate. The music was not so much great as eminently entertaining. … One memorable moment came between the two movements of the Concerto Grosso (Op. 3, No. 6), in which the two most distinctive period instruments, the harpsichord and the long-necked, lutelike theorbo, were pulled from the fabric of the ensemble like fine threads in a duo improvisation by Mr. Egarr and William Carter" ("Rejecting a Stiff Suit …," 4/28/07).