George Frideric Handel is famous for so much musically, but he is particularly notable for his great gift for melody. However, composing in the late Baroque period, the secret to the beauty of this style of music often lies in its structure.

Sunday evening?s Bermuda Festival concert at the City Hall Theatre, given by Manuel Barrueco, one of the world?s leading guitarists, together with internationally acclaimed recorder player Michala Petri, began with a performance of Handel?s Sonata in F Major. They played with such clarity and deliberation that it lifted this delightful piece, that is so quintessentially Handel, to a level that I have rarely heard. Elegant and measured, it seemed to me that it was an exceptional performance.

J.S. Bach is also from the late Baroque period, and his suite in B-flat major is also quite typical of his work and the time. Its movements are a series of charming dances, and Michala Petri?s solo performance of it was lovely, her presentation throwing characteristic elements of each movement into elegant relief.

Undoubtedly many in the audience were looking forward with eager anticipation to hearing the great Barrueco perform. After the intermission he had the stage to himself to play a classic for solo guitar, Five Bagatelles for Solo Guitar by the contemporary composer W. Walton.

Here, we saw the master at work, completed engrossed in the piece, and the performance was mesmerising. The work is a happy one, and tips its hat in places to the classic Spanish style, thus depicting sunny, lazy days with tremendous effect ? particularly in the hands of this acclaimed guitarist.

Mountain Songs by R. Beaser was in complete contrast: a series that borrows from American folk heritage, these simple melodies were so familiar yet so arranged they are presented in a fresh, interesting and engaging way.

This piece is Americana through and through ? the replication of the style of the banjo here and there setting the stage and creating an entirely different feel from the works that had come before.

The highlight was certainly Barrueco?s performance of Walton?s Five Bagatelles, and it was a particular delight to hear the Baroque pieces, which lend themselves so perfectly to a pairing of recorder and guitar.

The two musicians also performed Histoire du Tango by Astor Piazzolla, a pleasant work by Castelnuovo-Tededco, and Roverto Sierra?s Baroque-inspired Prelude, Haba?era and Perpetual Motion, all of which rounded out the programme very pleasantly.