Handel’s Grand Concertos Op. 6: Shifts in Compositional Perspectives

This book offers a deep analysis of Handel’s Twelve Grand Concertos, Op. 6, a part of Handel’s repertoire which has remained relatively understudied. Bringing together an analytical approach to the concertos with their historical context, the author shows how studying these concertos offers new insights into Handel’s innovative and deeply individual compositional techniques, reframing our modern understanding of Handel as a composer. Refocusing scholarly attention on the crucial role of the orchestra, this book demonstrates how Handel utilised a unique compositional strategy that involved juxtaposing and fusing elements of different concerto types, including the grosso, ripieno, solo, and hybrid concerto. Revealing the remarkable consistency and creative deployment of the multilayered interconnections between concerto types in these works, this study shows that they represent a novel development in the history of the concerto genre. Shedding new light on Handel’s Grand Concertos, on Handel as a composer, and the history of the concerto, this book is relevant to Handel scholars, musicologists, music theorists, and all those with a serious interest in Handel and eighteenth-century music.

Vadym Rakochi is a Lecturer in the Department of Music and Scientific Collaborator at the Institute for Music Research at Zurich University of the Arts, Switzerland.