Handel - Concerto Grosso in C Major, HWV 318, "Alexander's Feast"

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) Concerto Grosso in C Major, HWV 318, "Alexander's Feast" Composed in 1736; premiered in 1736 in London Performed by the English Baroque Soloists, conducted by John Eliot Gardiner (b. 1943) Recorded June 1987 at Stadthalle, Göttingen, Germany 0:00 I. Allegro 3:30 II. Largo 5:20 III. Allegro 8:46 IV. Andante non presto Handel composed his Concerto Grosso in C major, HWV 318, in January 1736 to serve as an instrumental interlude between the two acts of his ode "Alexander's Feast". The work features a scoring for two solo violins, solo violoncello, oboes, bassoons, strings, and continuo. The piece immediately captured the audience's enthusiasm and became one of Handel's most popular orchestral works. Unlike his main orchestral sets (Opus 3 and Opus 6), HWV 318 was published as a standalone concerto grosso, first appearing in John Walsh's Select Harmony collection in 1740 under the title by which it remains best known today: the "Alexander's Feast" Concerto.