G.F. Handel . Arr Edoardo Catemario
Bergmann Edition: 9 pages
This work is originally a Suite for harpsichord. The key of Dm is true to the original ( The tuning has a dropped D 6th) and it is the archetypical Baroque Suite of 4 movements , Allemande , Corrente , Sarabanda and Giga, with every movement in two sections both repeated .
The Allemande is largely in two voices(sometimes 3 ) and fits really finely onto the guitar mostly in first position with the top note only being the Bb on fret 6 of string 1.The Corrente is longer and moves much more around the fingerboard in its 2, (sometimes 3 ) voices , and reaches as high as tenth position , and fret 13 of string one, and so is a little more tricky to manoeuvre than the Allemande, although the fingering is very carefully done and very useful should you need it. The serious and sadly moving Sarabanda again covers the entire fingerboard and its graceful harmonies sound like it was written for the guitar, not the harpsichord. The final Giga is quite short and, in spite of its speed, fits remarkably well on the guitar without too much trouble.
As a suite it is perfectly fine; it is not of the standard of Bach’s , but then again , what is ? However it is a fine vehicle for a decent player to get under his or her fingers and as such I can recommend this fine publication as worthy of your time effort and money!
Chris Dumigan
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