Suites and Concertos, A Concert of Baroque and Contemporary Music
The Capriol Suite is a conflation of Warlock’s original version for string orchestra and an arrangement by Dennis Bloodworth for recorder ensemble.
Peter Breiner, Beatles Concerto Grosso No. 1 (in the style of Handel).
Born in Slovakia, composer/arranger, pianist (classical/jazz) and conductor Peter Breiner now resides in Toronto. His set of four Beatles Concerto Grosso songs, of which the present is the first, dates from the early 1990s. Although there is clearly some stylistic overlap, each concerto grosso is written in the style of a particular Baroque master: Handel, Vivaldi, Bach and Corelli respectively.
In Beatles Concerto Grosso No. 1, three soloists (two violins and cello) form the concertino, while the ripieno consists of a string ensemble and harpsichord. Each movement is an arrangement of a popular Beatles tune “in the style of Handel.” What we find here is a double parody. The Beatles are seen through Handel, Handel is seen through the Beatles, and each is colorfully inflected by Breiner’s own jazzy harmonic language. In this melding of style, which conjugates the irreverent and the lyrical, the pompous and the charming, Peter Breiner achieves quite a delightful effect.
Notes by Maurice Boyer, conductor.
