Handel, George Frederic. (1685–1759) [Burney, Charles. (1726–1814) & Cramer, Johann Baptist. (1771–1858) & Chrysander, Friedrich. (1826–1901)]
Suites de Pieces pour le Clavecin - THE COPY OF CHARLES BURNEY
London: John Walsh. [ca. 1736]. Suites de Pieces pour le Clavecin, composées par G. F. Handel. Early edition of Handel's 8 Great Suites, HWV 426–433, with extensive holograph inscriptions from prominent owners Charles Burney, J. B. Cramer and Friedrich Chrysander. [PN] 490. 94 pp. Oblong folio. Händel-Jahrbuch III, S. 213; RISM H/HH 1438; Kat. Hoboken 5 Nr. 174. In very good condition: damp stains along the right edge margin with those to the edges of the title and first page restored; on the title page, the printed indication "I. Volume" has been removed and replaced with manuscript "Volume." A remarkable and historic copy.The volume was originally in the possession of the great music historian Charles Burney, and bears an extensive autograph note from Burney on the verso of the first page of music: "This first sett of Lessons printed by Mr. Handel's own order, will always be held in the highest esteem, notwithstanding those real improvements in the style for lessons, which some masters have since hit upon [...] but many of the compositions call'd Harpsichord Lessons are highly improper for the Instrument, and none more so than most of these—for it is impossible to express the continuance of a note upon the Harpsichord; (much longer than while it is struck.) Besides, the style of a Fuge or a voluntary and that of a Lesson is very different, & to play a Fuge or a Voluntary upon the Harp[sichord] is as injudicious as to perform a Lesson on the Organ. In order to adapt things [pro]perly to both instruments, it is requisite that all composers should consider the continuance of the note upon the one, and the discontinuance of it upon the other." Below this, the next owner, 19th-century pianist and composer Johann Baptist Cramer, has noted: "London / Bought by J. B. Cramer at Doc. Burneyʼs Sales of Music &c. June 24th 1813." Further autograph notes have been added by Chrysander. A remarkable copy uniting several significant scholars of Handel's works.
According to historian Sir John Hawkins, Handel's keyboard improvisations "stole on the ear in a slow and solemn progression; the harmony close wrought, and as full as could be possibly be expressed; the passage concatenated with stupendous art, the whole at the same time being perfectly intelligible, and carrying the appearance of great simplicity." These same improvisatory characteristics carry over into his 8 Great Suites for harpsichord, which refuse to follow the traditional order of movements of a French dance suite, each instead with its own number and ordering of dances. The suites contain a variety of styles, ranging from arias with variations to Italian-style sonata movements, highly academic fugues (which Charles Burney apparently found inappropriate for the instrument) and even a magnificent passacaglia.
The important historian Charles Burney, the first owner of the present copy, was one of the first to document Handel's life and work. Although some of the information given about Handel in Burney's A General History of Music (1776-1789) may be spurious, Burney did in fact know the composer, and provides a description of his character and appearance that has remained relevant: "his general look was somewhat heavy and sour; but when he did smile, it was his sire the sun bursting out of a black cloud... He was impetuous, rough, and peremptory in his manners and conversation, but totally devoid of ill-nature or malevolence." Burney also wrote a "Sketch of the Life of Handel" which appeared in his account of the first Handel Commemoration (1785).
The next owner of this remarkable copy was the pianist Johann Baptist Cramer, like Handel a German immigrant to England. He was considered one of the finest pianists of his time, numbering Beethoven among his admirers. Besides performing, he also led a music publishing and musical instrument manufacturing business. After Cramer, the copy passed to German music historian Friedrich Chrysander, a pioneer of 19th-century musicology who is particularly associated with Handel scholarship. In 1856, he founded the Händel-Gesellschaft, and as its sole editor published a collected 105-volume edition of Handel's works. Although the "society" had an official board of directors, this massive task of editing and publishing was achieved almost entirely by Chrysander alone. The Händel-Gesellschaft editions were considered the authoritative editions of Handel's works until the later 20th century. (15149)
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