Album insights
John Stanley, born on January 17, 1712, was the eldest surviving child of John and Elizabeth Stanley from the St. Swithin's London parish near London Stone. At the age of two, he reportedly lost his sight due to a household accident involving a broken porcelain basin. Despite this, the copper engraving based on a lost oil portrait by Thomas Gainsborough depicts him in his middle years with sunken eye sockets; however, he may have retained some vision as he evolved into a prolific composer, seemingly capable of an active concert career, conducting extensive works of his contemporaries such as Handel's Messiah.
Demonstrating his prowess as an organist from a young age, Stanley secured various organist positions after studying under John Reading and Maurice Greene. Financial stability came in 1738 through his marriage to a member of the East India Company, yielding a substantial dowry. He quickly carved a name for himself with compositions spanning prevalent genres of his time. He succeeded Handel as the director of Lenten oratorios in Covent Garden, then at Drury Lane, and served as a lead musician at the Foundling Hospital. By 1779, he took over William Boyce's role as Master of the Royal Music, crafting New Year's and birthday odes for the court until his passing in May 1786.
In the spring of 1742, Stanley self-published his Six Concertos in seven parts, advertised in the London Evening Post issue of March 30 / April 1. The publication garnered success, leading publisher John Walsh to reprint it multiple times, preserving numerous copies in both private and public libraries. In later years, the collection appeared in arrangements for flute and basso continuo, as well as a version altering Concertino strings' parts for solo harpsichord or organ and strings. These adaptations likely aimed to capitalize on the organ concerto trend following Handel’s op. 4 from 1738. For this recording, we've combined two versions, assuming Stanley's op. 10 adaptation as indicative of how organists of his era expanded and elaborated solo sections during performances.
Stanley distinguished himself from his contemporaries by crafting "grand concertos," taking cues from Handel's op. 6 concertos of 1739. While at times reminiscent of Corelli, especially in op. 2 No. 1's beautiful opening sequence, Stanley primarily leaned towards Handel's more varied style. His works showcased subtle nods to Handel's op. 6, as seen in op. 2 No. 4's D minor adagio resembling op. 6 No. 2's F major opening. These nuances, coupled with Stanley's creative compositions like op. 2 No. 2 for solo cello, exhibited an elegance that even Handel admired.