George Frideric Handel: Passacaglia - Trees of Green 2026

Passacaglia in G minor (from Harpsichord Suite No. 7, HWV 432) Composed by George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) Arranged for strings by Sergei Aslamazyan and Petar Petrov Conductor: Vincent Leung WYK Alumni String Orchestra Recorded by Music Totem Studio at School Hall, Wah Yan College, Kowloon on 3 October 2026 George Frideric Handel published his celebrated Suites de pièces pour le clavecin (first collection) in London in 1720. The final movement of the Suite No. 7 in G minor (HWV 432) is a majestic Passacaglia—a musical form that originated as a slow, 17th-century Spanish street dance. At its core, a passacaglia relies on a repeating bass line (or basso ostinato). Over this unshakable, four-bar harmonic foundation, Handel weaves a brilliant tapestry of fifteen successive variations, gradually intensifying the rhythmic textures and emotional stakes of the piece. While Handel wrote this work for a single keyboard player, its explosive dramatic arc and rich harmonic architecture have long invited reimagining by later masters. While the 1893 violin-and-viola duo arrangement by Johan Halvorsen remains famous, Soviet-Armenian cellist and composer Sergei Aslamazyan (1897–1978)—a founding member of the legendary Komitas Quartet—brought a distinctly deep, rich, and romantic string texture to the piece. In this specific edition, further refined by publisher and arranger Petar Petrov, Aslamazyan’s arrangement elevates Handel's keyboard piece into a virtuosic showcase for strings. Rather than keeping the main theme bound to the lower register, the arrangement brilliantly rotates the spotlight across the entire ensemble. The music moves seamlessly from heavy, rhythmically punctuated statements to singing, highly expressive melodies and breathtakingly rapid, interconnected counterpoint. Balancing Baroque discipline with 20th-century string color, this arrangement transforms Handel's keyboard exercise into a grand, cinematic statement of tension and resolution.