Water Music, Suites 2 and 3

On 17 July 1717, King George I and his retinue embarked on a river outing—in this case an extravagantly decked out barge—beginning at Whitehall and heading up the Thames to finish at Chelsea. Musicians were stationed on a second, less extravagant barge and performed music by Handel multiple times during the upstream and downstream portions of the trip. Like the Royal Fireworks, Handel’s Water Music utilizes a massive orchestra. Reports suggest that 50 musicians performed at the premiere. Subsequently, the roughly 20 movements were divided into three suites or collections based on a shared key: F, D or G. Earlier editions often conflated various movements into a single work. Today the three separate suites have become staples of the Baroque orchestral repertoire.
Suite No. 2 in D Major opens with a boisterous fanfare involving brass instruments, which were still fairly novel additions to the English opera orchestra. This is not a true overture, which would have had a contrasting middle section. Instead, the material leads by way of simple linking chord progressions to one of Handel’s most familiar movements: the Hornpipe in D, featuring standout roles for horns and trumpets. Had he needed any inspiration for that distinctive triumphal sound needed a decade later for the Coronation Anthems, this would have served the purpose. These textures make a brilliant contrast with a minor-mode central section scored for strings with continuo accompaniment. The third movement unfolds as a regal dance in triple meter, and the entire suite concludes with a short Bourrée and magisterial Minuet.

Suite No. 3 in G Major opens with a serene and understated Sarabande. Opening a large-scale orchestral work with a slow Sarabande would be remarkable, but we must recall that Handel did not structure these suites himself; we have no evidence that he envisioned “making a statement” by this subtle opening gambit. The scoring for strings and flutes suggests the smaller orchestras Handel would have encountered in his youth. No imposing brass or percussion here. After this reflective start, Handel inserts a spirited Rigaudon. This dance seems to have originated as a folk dance in southern France during the 17th century, which made it suitably exotic for British audiences from Handel’s own era. The suite closes with two additional dance pairs retaining the string and wind texture; bassoons come a bit more to the fore during the Minuet, whereas the minor-mode Allegro with prominent recorders has become a recognizable movement often excerpted from the suite.
These suites, along with those by Bach, serve to remind us that the Classical era of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven did not invent the symphonic palette. Viennese composers certainly developed novel, compelling forms of symphonic structure that were either unknown or underutilized during the Baroque era. Yet those older composers were already making great strides in blending whole families of instruments into massive sonic textures. Without such preparation, the Classical symphony would not have emerged when it did.

(c) Jason Stell