The 18th century Opera in England was a very popular genre. So much so, that soon after an opera was performed, the most popular arias of that opera were arranged for smaller ensembles that could be played more simply in an instrumental way.

 

Georg Friedrich Handel's operas were particularly popular at the time. An arrangement by Handel, which is now preserved in the Koninklijk Huisarchief in The Hague and in a copy at the Nederlands Muziek Instituut in The Hague, has caught BREZZA's attention because it is written for the core ensemble: flute, viola da gamba, and harpsichord. This manuscript contains seven arranged arias from five different operas by Handel. BREZZA was inspired by this and created their own Handel arrangement.

 

"In my opinion there is no instrument that imitates the human voice melodically as closely as viols do. Sing with them and you will hear it for yourself" Martin Agricola, Musica Instrumentalis deudsch, 1545.

 

The viola da gamba has been called by different composers as the instrument with more similarities with the human voice and we could affirm this once again thanks to these arrangements. In the manuscript about Händel's operas, the voice part is taken by the viola da gamba and with the flute playing the part of the first violin. We can also observe that when there are other melodic instruments, they have been omitted in these arrangements.