Works for Piano, Volumes 1-4

To mark the Handel Year 2009, Bärenreiter is offering a special set on all Handel's keyboard music. Up until now, all works have been published as individual volumes Keyboard Works I-IV (BA 4221-4224) in the 'Halle Handel Edition'. These volumes encompass Handel's output over a long period, spanning approximately 1705 to 1750. Volumes I and II include both collections of suites (1720 and 1733) which the composer himself saw to print. These stand out in terms of their compositional demands and are a testimony to Handel's sometimes idiosyncratic treatment of the Baroque form. Volumes III and IV contain all the other individual surviving pieces and miscellaneous suites. The edition, based on the Urtext of the 'Halle Handel Edition', has been edited by the internationally-renowned Handel scholar Terence Best. The music text in each volume, which also takes into consideration alternative versions of individual pieces, is accompanied by a detailed foreword on the history of the compositions, transmission, and performance practice.