Handel’s compositional style was varied and diverse. His travels throughout Europe and collaborations with other composers such as Corelli gave him plenty of material from which to draw upon. His concerto grossi op 3. and op. 6 both display his cosmopolitan style and technical ability to synthesise these styles successfully. His heavy involvement with opera and oratorio styles is reflected in the vocal melodies and phrasing whereas the freedom with which he alternates between the concertino and ripeno is clearly inspired by the Corellian models with his own op.6 that were very popular in London at the time. Handel’s forms were also varied with binary dance forms reflecting Bach’s influence and the amount of movements in any given concerto varied from four to six movements. Handel’s concerto grosso Op.6 no. 8 is diverse in its style drawing upon influences from Bach, Corelli, Vivaldi and vocal music. It has a total of six individual movements that constantly change in texture and style yet work together as a whole
The opening Allemande is clearly influenced by Bach with its stylized dance in binary form. It opens with a ritornello that is quite clear and true to form until the end. There is a half cadence in measure 6 followed by sequences which finally leads to a strong cadence in the home key of C minor. Or at least that is what the audience is expecting until final resolution in the tonic is replaced with a dominant seventh chord of F minor. This jarring intrusion placed in the most unexpected place is made even more so by placing the foreign note E natural up an octave in the first violin creating a stunning interval of a major seventh. The chord resolves one measure later to F minor and is followed by another jarring tonicisation into G minor the dominant key. These outlandish chords bear a likeness to the adventurous harmonies of Vivaldi’s concerti and sustain the momentum of the entire movement until it finally comes to rest in C minor in the closing bars. This technique of suspending the harmonic resolution from beginning to the end is also similar to concerti by Vivaldi.
After reaching the dominant key of G minor, because of its repeated binary structure, the music returns to its opening material in its original key. This mix of ritornello form and binary form combine in a most interesting way and it is seamlessly realized by Handel. The effect of the repeat does not diminish the bold chords in place of the cadence, but rather the listener is in keen anticipation of their arrival once again.
The following grave movement is stunning with cascading lines which enter in a staggered set of layers. The movement dovetails nicely with the Allemande commencing in a similar low register as where the music finished previously. The texture in this movement also points to the influence of Bach as it is clearly evocative of a chorale. Its contrapuntal writing and steady quarter note pulse draws a close relation to the chorales of Bach and Handel had undoubtedly learnt much of his vocal part writing by studying his fellow countryman´s oeuvre. The pauses between phrases, in particular that in measures nine and ten, are characteristic of the chorale style and one could imagine this music having a text setting. On top of this stylistic variation Handel begins to vary the texture by alternating use of the concertino and the ripieno which he will continue to do throughout the concerto. The sound achieves more dimensions through this variation of the orchestra with the expressive descending lines being enhanced by the smaller concertino.
The next Andante also uses the concertino and ripieno to full effect and this time the style is that of Corelli. The ripieno is largely used to mark cadences and double the concertino when a thicker texture is needed. The eighth note passages that appear at measure three and eleven hark back to the expressive descending lines of the previous movement and use the concertino alone to showcase the beautiful suspensions written into the lines. The movement then takes advantage of the two groups by pitting them in a call and response passage. Handel´s ideas for variation such as this are used methodically and with restraint throughout the work retaining interest in the music.
The following three movements, Adagio, Siciliana, and Allegro continue to display a variety of influences similar to the other movements. The Adagio again has chorale qualities and dovetails smoothly by ending on the dominant key of G minor which acts as an upbeat to the beautiful song like phrases of the Siciliana. In the Siciliana Handel´s melodic prowess is on display in a smooth vocal style that shows his synthesis of the Italian style. The ripieno is once again used to good effect at balancing the structure with textural variation. The final Allegro in binary form seems to be a mix between the Corellian use of a pulsing line of accompanying quarter notes with a more independent voice resting with the first violins and the binary form derived from Bach. The texture is again, like the opening Allemande a tutti orchestra attaining closure with its texture, form and its home key of C minor.
Apart from the aesthetic beauty of Handel’s concerti there is much to be admired in the synthesis of style and diversity of influence. His music is somewhat of time capsule representing key elements of music throughout Europe in his time. The genius of his ability lies in his ability not only to incorporate the many elements that he has picked up from his travels and experience but to make beautiful music out of all of these elements.
