When this album was recorded in 1980, the English Baroque Soloists ensemble had only been founded for barely two years. Indeed, John Eliot Gardiner first created the Monteverdi Choir in 1964, then the Monteverdi Orchestra in 1968 which played on modern instruments. In the late 1970s the orchestra transitioned to period instruments and became the English Baroque Soloists. The first concert under the new name was in 1977 at the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music, although the orchestra was not officially formed until 1978. The Water Music Suites is one of English Baroque Soloists' first recordings. The instrumental level is remarkable, Gardiner's aesthetic being already made of accuracy, instrumental perfection, intonation and dynamism - it was a question of breaking down all the prejudgments that could exist on the baroque at that time.

Disc 1

Track name

Artist

1.Appendix: Variant No. 1 in F Major, HWV331/1

English Baroque Soloists

2.I. Overture: Largo - Allegro

English Baroque Soloists

3.II. Adagio E Staccato

English Baroque Soloists

4.III. Allegro

English Baroque Soloists

5.IV. Andante - Minuet (Reprise)

English Baroque Soloists

6.V. Passepied

English Baroque Soloists

7.VI. Air

English Baroque Soloists

8.VII. Minuet

English Baroque Soloists

9.VIII. Bouree - IX. Hornpipe

English Baroque Soloists

10.X. Allegro

English Baroque Soloists

11.Appendix: Alla Hornpipe, HWV331/2

English Baroque Soloists

12.I. Minuet

English Baroque Soloists

13.II. Rigaudons I & II

English Baroque Soloists

14.III. Minuets I & II

English Baroque Soloists

15.IV. Gigues I & II

English Baroque Soloists

16.I. Allegro

English Baroque Soloists

17.II. Alla Hornpipe

English Baroque Soloists

18.III. Minuet

English Baroque Soloists

19.IV. Lentement

English Baroque Soloists

20.V. Bourree

English Baroque Soloists

When will my order arrive?

• If the items are in stock, we’ll aim to dispatch them within 24 hours of your order being placed.  
• Orders sent via Royal Mail 48® are usually received within two to five working days, including Saturdays. 
• Orders sent via the Express Delivery service will be dispatched the same day if ordered by 2pm, Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays).
• We will aim to dispatch pre-orders so that you receive them on the release date.
• Where an item is 'Back in stock soon', we'll aim to receive more stock within a week and will dispatch any orders once the shipment has arrived.
• Certain items can take longer to source than the estimated week, particularly during busy trading periods and may take longer to arrive at our warehouse. In this instance, we'll send weekly updates to keep you aware. 
• Products labelled '*item fulfilled by Exertis on behalf of hmv' will be supplied to you directly by Exertis via their approved couriers. When you place an order for an item that is fulfilled by Exertis, your details shall be forwarded to them so that they can fulfil the order, and to their courier so that they can deliver the item.

Delivery charges

• Free delivery is available for most items when the order exceeds £20, but any exceptions will be clearly highlighted.
• Selected items are only available for delivery via the Royal Mail 48® service and other items are available for delivery using this service for a charge.
• Selected items are only available for delivery using Click & Collect to an hmv or FOPP store of your choice.
• All delivery options and any charges that are applicable will be shown at the checkout.

Will you tell me when my order is on its way?

• We will email you as soon as each item is ready to be dispatched so you know when to expect them, but you can also check the status of your order in your account.
• We don’t always ship everything together so check your dispatch email for more details - we’ll send you a dispatch email per parcel.
• If your order contains items that are out of stock, we’ll ship the in-stock items as soon as we can and will dispatch the out-of-stock items as soon as we’ve received more stock in the warehouse.
• For items that are dispatched using our standard service, we ask that you wait 14 days from the date of dispatch before reporting any items as undelivered.

Returns

• We're happy to accept returns for unwanted items provided that they're returned within 14 days of receipt; unopened, unused and in perfect condition.
• Some exclusions apply, please visit our Help Centre for more details.