There is fair agreement that three of the four Handel sonatas on this album are indeed by the composer; various sources attest to this, including one actual manuscript for the C-minor sonata. In other cases, like for the G-minor sonata, the autograph specifies violin, while the publisher’s version lists oboe. But even here, a copyist’s copy also lists the instrumentation as for oboe, so the confusion continues. But generally speaking, we can make a good assumption that the oboe was wedded to this music at least some of the time, if not always the original specification. So instead of the normal “canonical” three sonatas, we get here an additional one as well.
Handel is hardly one to argue instrumentation, especially if it meant money in his pocket otherwise, so Karla Schroter (the oboist of Concert Royal Cologne) is quite correct in including these four in this collection. Sigismund Weiss is a composer that Handel met in Düsseldorf, the brother of the more famous Sylvius Leopold Weiss, a lutenist at the Dresden court. Our Weiss enjoyed a modest career, certainly not like that of Handel, but as this music shows, he had nothing to be ashamed of, and could certainly compete with the master in this genre at least.
Schroter’s nearest competition in the music is by one of her mentors, Marcel Ponseele on an Accent recording that has the canonical three sonatas plus a couple by Vivaldi as well. I have never much liked Ponseele’s tone—far too squawky for me—and Schroter does seem able to best him, though she too indulges in a few questionable antics where she manipulates the sound in the semblance of a trill that is most disturbing. However, much of this is part and parcel of the world of period oboe, and you must take what you get when dealing with this unwieldy and oftentimes stubbornly offensive instrument. One saving grace here that also sets her above her mentor is the varied use of continuo, quite effective with the archlute and organ. In general a good go, though if you cannot abide the period oboe this will do little to help assuage your fears. For the initiated, or those who simply like good Handel playing, proceed with assurance. The surround sound is nicely handled (sorry) and there are no complaints from that quarter.
— Steven Ritter
