Description

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL: Alla Hornpipe, from Water Music Suite in D major, HWV 349
Arranged for bassoon quartet by Michael A. Grant
 
Handel’s three ‘Water Music’ suites are some of the composer’s best-known works, and were written at the request of King George I for a concert on barges on the River Thames. The king enjoyed the music so much that he had it repeated at least three times over the course of the evening, meaning the musicians had to perform from 8:00 p.m. until after midnight with only one break. The ‘Alla Hornpipe’ from the second suite is a particularly popular movement, and is the most famous example of a Baroque hornpipe.
 
This arrangement can be performed as a bassoon quartet or (by eliminating the optional 4th part) as a trio.