Lorenzo D'Antò, Michele Di Filippo, Duo Astra - Handel: Complete Flute Sonatas (2026)

Tracklist

01. Flute Sonata in A Minor, HWV 362: I. Larghetto
02. Flute Sonata in A Minor, HWV 362: II. Allegro
03. Flute Sonata in A Minor, HWV 362: III. Adagio
04. Flute Sonata in A Minor, HWV 362: IV. Allegro
05. Flute Sonata in E Minor, HWV 359b: I. Grave
06. Flute Sonata in E Minor, HWV 359b: II. Allegro
07. Flute Sonata in E Minor, HWV 359b: III. Adagio
08. Flute Sonata in E Minor, HWV 359b: IV. Allegro
09. Flute Sonata in B Minor HWV 367b: I. Largo
10. Flute Sonata in B Minor HWV 367b: II. Vivace
11. Flute Sonata in B Minor HWV 367b: III. Presto
12. Flute Sonata in B Minor HWV 367b: IV. Adagio
13. Flute Sonata in B Minor HWV 367b: V. Alla Breve
14. Flute Sonata in B Minor HWV 367b: Vi. Andante
15. Flute Sonata in B Minor HWV 367b: VII. Minuetto
16. Flute Sonata in F Major, HWV 369: I. Larghetto
17. Flute Sonata in F Major, HWV 369: II. Allegro
18. Flute Sonata in F Major, HWV 369: III. Siciliana
19. Flute Sonata in F Major, HWV 369: IV. Allegro
20. Flute Sonata in C Major, HWV 365: I. Larghetto
21. Flute Sonata in C Major, HWV 365: II. Allegro
22. Flute Sonata in C Major, HWV 365: III. Larghetto
23. Flute Sonata in C Major, HWV 365: IV. A Tempo Di Gavotta
24. Flute Sonata in C Major, HWV 365: V. Allegro
25. Flute Sonata in G Major, HWV 363b: I. Adagio
26. Flute Sonata in G Major, HWV 363b: II. Allegro
27. Flute Sonata in G Major, HWV 363b: III. Adagio
28. Flute Sonata in G Major, HWV 363b: IV. Bourrée
29. Flute Sonata in G Major, HWV 363b: V. Minuetto
30. Flute Sonata in G Minor, HWV 360: I. Larghetto
31. Flute Sonata in G Minor, HWV 360: II. Andante
32. Flute Sonata in G Minor, HWV 360: III. Adagio
33. Flute Sonata in G Minor, HWV 360: IV. Presto
34. Flute Sonata in D Major, HWV 378: I. Adagio
35. Flute Sonata in D Major, HWV 378: II. Allegro
36. Flute Sonata in D Major, HWV 378: III. Adagio
37. Flute Sonata in D Major, HWV 378: IV. Allegro
38. Flute Sonata in A Minor, HWV 374 (Halle Sonata No. 1): I. Adagio
39. Flute Sonata in A Minor, HWV 374 (Halle Sonata No. 1): II. Allegro
40. Flute Sonata in A Minor, HWV 374 (Halle Sonata No. 1): III. Adagio
41. Flute Sonata in A Minor, HWV 374 (Halle Sonata No. 1): IV. Allegro
42. Flute Sonata in E Minor, HWV 375 (Halle Sonata No. 2): I. Adagio
43. Flute Sonata in E Minor, HWV 375 (Halle Sonata No. 2): II. Allegro
44. Flute Sonata in E Minor, HWV 375 (Halle Sonata No. 2): III. Grave
45. Flute Sonata in E Minor, HWV 375 (Halle Sonata No. 2): IV. Minuetto
46. Flute Sonata in B Minor, HWV 376 (Halle Sonata No. 3): I. Adagio
47. Flute Sonata in B Minor, HWV 376 (Halle Sonata No. 3): II. Allegro
48. Flute Sonata in B Minor, HWV 376 (Halle Sonata No. 3): III. Largo
49. Flute Sonata in B Minor, HWV 376 (Halle Sonata No. 3): IV. Allegro
50. Flute Sonata in B-Flat Major, HWV 377: I. Allegro
51. Flute Sonata in B-Flat Major, HWV 377: II. Adagio
52. Flute Sonata in B-Flat Major, HWV 377: III. Allegro
Landmark works of Baroque chamber music given a 21st-century twist.
The extent to which George Friederic Handel’s flute sonatas ‘belong’ on the flute is an open question. Some sonatas were composed with the violin in mind, and then arranged by Handel’s London publisher, John Walsh, ever alert to a commercial opportunity. Others were probably conceived for recorder and basso continuo, and then transposed for the different register of the flute. Most of them were written around the 1720s, but some date from rather earlier, so far as we can tell.
Even more than his contemporaries such as Bach, Handel was an assiduous reuser and recycler of his own material, and thus the notion of early and late style in this music, and an evolution between them, becomes somewhat moot. Not entirely, however, for there is a discernible movement away from Italian and towards French models of rhetoric in the sonatas, just as the oratorios develop an increased richness of harmony and economy of gesture during the decades of Handel’s English period.
To accompany this new recording, the flautist Lorenzo d’Antò has supplied invaluable chapter and verse for each sonata in his booklet essay. He also brings them alive in his partnership with the guitarist Michele Di Filippo, with the aim of rediscovering ‘these antique masterpieces, and observing them from a new and modern perspective.’ Thus the basso continuo lines, usually encountered on a harpsichord or combination of cello, lute and keyboard, have been mapped on to the guitar. This is a practice with many honourable precedents, dating back to Handel’s own time.
Lorenzo D’Antò graduated from the conservatoire in Rome in 2017. While at a relatively early stage in his career, he is already principal flute of the orchestra of the Arena di Verona. He has also performed as a concerto soloist and recitalist in festivals and venues across Italy and Switzerland. He is partnered here by Michele di Filippo, a guitarist born in 1994 who is also active as a composer.

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