On the album ‘Handel’s Delight’ the jazz group Baroque and Blue perform latter-day arrangements of music by George Frederic Handel, including four sonatas, and the chamber pieces “Süsse Stille, sanfte Quelle”, “Die ihr aus dunklen Grüften”, and “Künft‘ger Zeiten eitler Kummer”. The CD also features the renowned male soprano Jörg Waschinski.

The arrangements on ‘Handel’s Delight’ range from a relatively faithful offering of Handel’s text with a pizzicato bass and drums beefing up the continuo (as in HWV 367), to instances where the composer’s harmonies are intensified and certain phrases expanded.

Made by musicians and composers including Blaž Pucihar, Loy Wesselburg, Christian Haller, Roger Goldberg and Hans-Richard Ludewig - and Britain’s Andy Panayi - their inventive, catchy and jazzy arrangements let listeners recognise anew the freshness and invention of Handel’s music. In Handel’s day, he was dependent on his performing artists to bring their inspiration and skill to his music and bring it to life for his audience. In the interpretations recorded here, it similarly comes alive for today’s listeners.