George Frideric Handel spent over three years in Italy. From late 1706 to early 1710, he intensely absorbed local art and culture, maintaining close contact with the country’s most distinguished virtuosos, composers, and musicians of the time. He encountered, among others, Lotti, Caldara, Corelli, and Alessandro and Domenico Scarlatti. His stay on the Italian Peninsula bore fruit in the form of works composed there, a testament to the then-young Handel’s immense skill, and also provided inspiration for the future. These included a dozen concerti grossi written almost thirty years later.

In the late 1730s, the artist became interested in this form, as a way to delight London audiences with his music during intermissions from oratorios. Italian concerti grossi, like those written by Locatelli and Corelli, were popular in England, and their publication was a lucrative venture. Creating this collection did not present Handel with any significant difficulties, as he completed it in just over a month. The seventh work in this collection is characterised by its extraordinary formal conciseness and lack of solo passages. The entire piece concludes with a section named “hornpipe” by the composer, suggesting inspiration from the folk dance of that name, although it is known that he was inspired by Gottlieb Muffat’s Componimenti musicali.

Both compositions from his Italian period, which Wrocław Baroque Ensemble, led by Maestro Andrzej Kosendiak, will perform, are the result of Handel’s stay in Rome. It is probable that his motets Nisi Dominus and Dixit Dominus were written for the commemoration of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the local church of Santa Maria in Montesanto. In these works, the author demonstrates his ability to combine German-style counterpoint with the melodic lightness characteristic of Italy. As we can see, Handel, despite being a Lutheran, did not shy away from writing music for the Catholic liturgy while in the Eternal City. “When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” as the English say.