Named after Handel’s London address, the Brook Street Band celebrates its 20th birthday with this release of the composer’s lesser-known trio sonatas – and if that sounds dry, the performances are anything but. Not all the musical material is unfamiliar, either, thanks to Handel’s penchant for recycling. That is most obvious in the “Saul” sonata, HWV 403, which shares music with the oratorio. Then there’s the overture to “Esther”, which works brilliantly here for trio sonata forces – if Handel himself didn’t think of reusing the piece this way, it was an uncharacteristic missed trick.
But bat-eared Handel lovers will pick up on more quotations throughout this disc, which also includes the three “Dresden” sonatas, plus two others. Cellist and band founder Tatty Theo, violinists Rachel Harris and Farran Scott, and harpsichordist Carolyn Gibley approach everything with a spring in their step, relishing the harmonic crunches and keeping everything vital and vivacious.
