Since its formation in 2010, Arcangelo has risen to the top ranks of period instrument ensembles. For this program, Arcangelo performs instrumental works by Bach and Buxtehude, as well as Handel’s rarely heard Nine German Arias. Handel wrote little in his native German, but his friend the poet Barthold Heinrich Brockes—with whom he shared religious beliefs—wrote sacred texts that the composer set to some of his most luscious melodies. While the arias are vocally splendid and have much of the expressive power of Handel’s operas, they also boast many beautiful passages for solo instruments.