This recording of Handel’s Water Music remains one of the finest available “big band” versions using modern instruments. It also was one of Chandos’ earliest digital successes, establishing the label’s reputation for sonic as well as artistic excellence, and its virtues haven’t diminished at all since it was first issued in 1985. It’s difficult to say exactly why the music comes off sounding so fresh and lively in this peformance. Certainly, Gibson brings an unvarnished joy to his conducting that serves these suites particularly well. From the crisp rhythms of the two overtures and rollicking horns in the quicker movements (such a delightful Alla Hornpipe!) to the perfectly gauged Adagio e staccato from Suite No. 1, you get the sense that conductor and orchestra are just having a great time in music they were born to play.
Then there’s the sound: warm and clear, capturing the instruments in a truly flattering acoustic space. It’s simply a pleasure to listen to, never aurally fatiguing or unnaturally balanced. Hopefully Chandos will add Gibson’s stunning disc of Elgar Overtures to its reissue roster; it boasts the same virtues as this recording and for my money never has been surpassed. Really super!
