There is certainly no shortage of recordings of
Handel
's
Water Music
, divided into its three familiar but possibly inauthentic suites, and
Royal Fireworks Music
. Equally certainly, the
B'Rock Orchestra
has what it takes to stand out from the crowd; this is a bold and innovative interpretation of these repertory standards, and it made classical best-seller lists in the summer of 2023. Whether listeners will buy the innovations offered here by
B'Rock
and conductor
Dmitry Sinkovsky
, stepping in for the somewhat less outre
Rene Jacobs
on the orchestra's return to the
PentaTone
label, will likely be a matter of personal taste. Consider the tempos, fast throughout, and in places startlingly so. There is little justification, in the score or anywhere else, for the speed-up of the second strain the Gigue of the
Suite No. 3, HWV 350
. Another drastic move on
's part is the addition of percussion in several movements of the
; given that
later notated percussion in the
, he could have done so here if he had wanted to. Yet both of these devices add excitement and intensity to the music, and the general energy level is high. Elsewhere there are embellishments on repeats, some pleasantly squawky period brass, and all kinds of unusual phrasing. Given all the changes in what constitutes a "typical" performance of these
outdoor standards, it is entirely possible that this one will set a pattern. It is hardly a done deal, however. ~ James Manheim