Handel, GF :: Minuet from the Water Music

Musicians Publications presents G.F. Handel s Minuet from Water Music Suite' arranged for flexible woodwind quartet by Bill Holcombe. Scored for flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon, this flexible quartet also includes an optional bass clarinet part to replace the bassoon when necessary.

It was on the occasion of the royal river excursion of July 17, 1717, described above by the Brandenburg Resident in London, Friedrich Bonet, that Handel s Celebrated Water Music was first performed. River parties were regular occurrences during the summer season in eighteenth-century London, and royal excursions were important social occasions. The 1717 event was apparently the grandest, and possibly the last, of King George I s water parties. A contemporary newspaper account reported that there were so many boats, filled with persons of quality, that the whole river in a manner was cover d. The barges floated up the river from Whitehall to Chelsea, riding the tide. The King and his party were served dinner at Chelsea at one o clock in the morning, returning to St. James s Palace at half-past four. Handel s reputation, both with the royal family and the more general public, was served well by his contribution to the royal cruise. Movements from the so-called Water Music appeared in various publications for several decades, and concert performances were very popular. Throughout the work the wind and brass instruments, so well suited for outdoor use, figure prominently.'

- Charlotte Nediger, 2016