JOHN CHRISTOPHER SMITH (1712-1795): 6 Suites of Lessons for the Harpsichord, Op. 3, GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL (1685-1759): Overture to Riccardo Primo, re d'Inghilterra, HWV 456 (arr. Handel).

Description: Handel's second amanuensis of this name (following his father in the job) was not just a stitcher of pasticcio oratorios. This is the third publication of keyboard pieces (1755) in what the present performer calls the "Anglo-Scarlatti" style (Thomas Roseingrave, a teacher of Smith, was a major English enthusiast of Domenico's keyboard œuvre): athletic hand-crossings, unpredictable figurations, sudden shifts from major to minor keys, all contributing to a theatrical style which mixes the baroque and the rococo. Julian Perkins (harpsichord