Handel Collections and Their History

In November 1990 the Handel Institute held its first Triennial Conference, whose subject, `Handel Collections and their History', reflects the great importance for Handel scholarship of the many collections of manuscript copies of his works which were assembled during and after his lifetime by friends and admirers of the man and his music. these collections, mostly written by the composer's own copyists, provide fascinating insights into the compositional history and chronology of his works and their later modification for performance or for subsequent revival; and much can be learnt about Handel's working methods.An international panel of distinguished Handel scholars was assembled for the Conference, and their papers, gathered together in this book, are at once a testimony to the extent and depth of modern Handel scholarship, and a major contribution to our knowledge of one of music's greatest masters.

Review :
`will excite Handel scholars' Early Music News 'this volume...should be on the shelves of anyone interested in Handel. It is a model for similar works oncernign other composers, and a testament to Handel's capacity for creating interest, in his own time as well as in ours.' '...it is good to find an authoritative book which aims to 'bridge the traditional divide between musicology and practical music making.' Early Music Today 'a book which can be read through from cover to cover, consistently literate, firmly edited, the bibliographical discussion humane and subtle, and about a very important subject ... All the articles except for two (which do not require them) have extremely useful and clear appendices. The music examples and illustrations are excellent, and the indexing adequate. All in all, a model of how these things can be done.' Richard Luckett, The Music Times, May 1994 'a book which can be read through from cover to cover, consistently literate, firmly edited, the bibliographical discussion humane and subtle, and about a very important subject ... The music examples and illustrations are excellent, and the indexing adequate, if not copious. All in all, a model of how these things can be done.' Richard Luckett, The Musical Times, May 1994 `this is a beautifully produced, stylishly edited and most useful reference work. Many of the essays trace the provenance of the collections as thoroughly as possible, and the appendices are often definitive, providing a wealth of information on watermarks, rastra, dates and so forth which will be of great value to scholars. Handel Collections shows how far Handel studies have come, and at the same time indicates how much more remains to be done.' Music and Letters Vol 76, 3