a present-day salute to George Friedrich Händel
WATER WORKS

KTC 1661 . 1CD . 8711801016610 . 02/09/2019 . Etcetera Records

WATER WORKS

a present-day salute to George Friedrich Händel

Composer(s):
  • Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)

The rise of the Sirens from the water is not just accompanied by a mere slaughter. That’s a myth. More than that, the Syrènes are known far and wide to literally blow life force back into all listeners who are seduced by their sounds. After the success of their debut CD “Fresh, Sweet & Sturdy” in 2016, the women of the Syrène Saxophone Quartet dive into the deep again and come up with an ode to a composer they love, George Friedrich Handel.

On 17 July 1717, hundreds of boats overflowing with spectators filled the River Thames to see the celebratory boat cruise for King George I of Great Britain up close. For the occasion, George Friedrich Handel composed his Water Music suites performed by fifty musicians also seated on a boat. They were even called upon by the euphoric king to repeat the work three times that evening. It would take almost 125 years for the Belgian inventor Adolphe Sax to enrich the current set of instruments with his family of saxophones and thus lay the foundation for contemporary performance practice where saxophones can no longer be ignored.

It is therefore not surprising that Syrène Saxophone Quartet - now more than experienced in the performance of string pieces (Haydn/String Quartet Op.20, No.1) and even transforming a complete symphonic work into four-part, richly orchestrated chamber music (Gershwin / An American in Paris) - has now taken a completely new approach to Handel’s famous work Water Music. Armed with modern instruments, the Syrènes enter into a watertight partnership with Handel. In his suites Handel uses French and English dances, including folk dances such as the hornpipe and the more stately court menuet.

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Track listing

Water Music: Suite No.1 in F HWV 348 (arr. A. Kleinpenning)
1 l Ouverture. Largo - Allegro 03:24
artists: 'Syrène Saxophone Quartet '
composers: 'Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)'
2 ll Adagio et staccato 02:06
artists: 'Syrène Saxophone Quartet '
composers: 'Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)'
3 lll Allegro 02:20
artists: 'Syrène Saxophone Quartet '
composers: 'Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)'
4 lV Andante espressivo 02:25
artists: 'Syrène Saxophone Quartet '
composers: 'Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)'
5 Underwater l (2018) - Celia Swart [1994] 04:00
artists: 'Syrène Saxophone Quartet '
composers: 'Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)'
6 lll Allegro 02:18
artists: 'Syrène Saxophone Quartet '
composers: 'Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)'
7 V Presto 02:38
artists: 'Syrène Saxophone Quartet '
composers: 'Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)'
8 Vl Air 03:19
artists: 'Syrène Saxophone Quartet '
composers: 'Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)'
9 Vll Minuet 01:46
artists: 'Syrène Saxophone Quartet '
composers: 'Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)'
10 Vlll Bourée 00:42
artists: 'Syrène Saxophone Quartet '
composers: 'Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)'
11 lX Hornpipe 02:44
artists: 'Syrène Saxophone Quartet '
composers: 'Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)'
12 X Allegro moderatoa 03:40
artists: 'Syrène Saxophone Quartet '
composers: 'Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)'
13 Underwater ll (2018) - Celia Swart 02:39
artists: 'Syrène Saxophone Quartet '
composers: 'Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)'
Water Music: Suite No. 2 in D HWV 349 (arr. A. Kleinpenning)
14 Xl Ouverture. Allegro 02:00
artists: 'Syrène Saxophone Quartet '
composers: 'Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)'
15 Xll Alla Hornpipe 02:59
artists: 'Syrène Saxophone Quartet '
composers: 'Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)'
16 Xlll Minuet 01:04
artists: 'Syrène Saxophone Quartet '
composers: 'Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)'
17 XlV Lentement 01:58
artists: 'Syrène Saxophone Quartet '
composers: 'Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)'
18 XV Bourée 01:12
artists: 'Syrène Saxophone Quartet '
composers: 'Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)'
Water Music: Suite No. 3 in G HWV 350 (arr. A. Kleinpenning)
19 XVl Allegro 02:00
artists: 'Syrène Saxophone Quartet '
composers: 'Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)'
20 XVll & XVlll Rigaudon l & ll 02:48
artists: 'Syrène Saxophone Quartet '
composers: 'Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)'
21 Underwater lll (2018) - Celia Swart 02:30
artists: 'Syrène Saxophone Quartet '
composers: 'Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)'
22 XlX Minuet l 01:08
artists: 'Syrène Saxophone Quartet '
composers: 'Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)'
23 XX Minuet ll 02:43
artists: 'Syrène Saxophone Quartet '
composers: 'Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)'
24 XXl & XXll Gigue l & ll 01:35
artists: 'Syrène Saxophone Quartet '
composers: 'Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)'