Album: Handel, Concerti Grossi Opus 6 / Avison (Linn)

Pavlo Beznosiuk and the Avison Ensemble leave Newcastle and travel to the Pleasure Gardens of 18th-century London in this scintillating triple-disc set of Handel's 12 Opus 6 Concerti Grossi.

Written in 1739, this is a compendium of Handel's musical interests, at times blatantly operatic in style and material (Nos 7 and 8), occasionally as grave as the English oratorios (No 5), often dazzlingly Italianate (Nos 2, 6 and 10). Performed without the optional woodwind, this is a vivacious, highly detailed set.