Drama and style - exploring Italian Baroque Sonatas

If I ask you to name a Baroque recorder sonata, which composer would immediately spring to mind? Handel, or perhaps Telemann? They’re two of the biggest names of the Baroque era (what a shame Bach never composed any recorder sonatas to complete the trilogy!) but there were many others who also wrote for our favourite instrument. 

In today’s blog we’re going to visit 18th century Italy to explore some marvellous repertoire from composers who were well respected in their day, but perhaps aren’t household names today. Some of these composers spent their lives working in their home country, but many visited London, which was arguably the place to be for musicians in the early 1700s, and some of them decided to stay. 

It’s been such a pleasure diving into this musical world - at times elegant, often dramatic and always oozing with Italian style. I’ve come up with a playlist of seven recorder sonatas, but each one is part of a longer playlist too. I’ve included a link to each album and I hope perhaps you’ll bookmark them on YouTube so you can explore them further. All are available to stream/download too, and some of them as CDs, so I’ve included links to these too. So sit down with a cup of your favourite beverage (or perhaps a glass of chianti or a cappuccino?) and relax as I transport us to Italy. 

If these inspire you to try them for yourself I’ve dug out links to the music for each sonata, which you can download and print. Many are also available as facsimiles of 18th century editions, which are fascinating in their own right. If you have some spare time, why not print out both versions so you can compare 18th and 21st century notation. Many of them are remarkably easy to read and I love the way these online resources allow us to go back in time and see the notation exactly as the composer would have known it.  

Francesco Barsanti - Sonata in C major Op.1 No.2

Flute Sonatas from the Italian Baroque, Vol. 2 - Frans Brüggen (recorder), Gustav Leonhardt (harpsichord), Anner Bylsma (cello)

Warner Classics: 9029527253

Listen to the complete album here.

Sheet music - Modern edition or 18th century facsimile

As recorder players we often borrow music from other instruments to expand our repertoire, but this can create problems. Sometimes the pitch has to be altered and the process of transcribing often results in music which feels less comfortable on the recorder. Happily, Barsanti’s music has none of these pitfalls. Not only were his six sonatas originally composed for the recorder, but the composer was also a talented player of the instrument and you really can tell.

Barsanti (1690–1775) trained as a lawyer in Padua but at the age of 24 he abandoned this career for a life in music, travelling to London, perhaps with composer Geminiani. A talented recorder player and oboist, he quickly found a role in the Haymarket orchestra, where Handel’s operas were produced. He stuck with this until 1735, before moving to Edinburgh for nearly a decade. Here he took up a post with the Edinburgh Music Society and enjoyed the patronage of Lady Erskine. He also married a local woman called Jean (her surname remains unknown) and their daughter Jenny became a well known actress in both London and Dublin. 

Sadly the Edinburgh Music Society wasn’t a rich institution and after receiving a 50% pay cut in 1740, and having several requests for a rise turned down, Barsanti eventually returned to London. After eight years away his previously strong reputation had faded so he agreed to become a violinist in Handel’s opera orchestra. 

An example of Barsanti’s quirky approach to slurs

Fortunately for us, Barsanti’s six recorder sonatas were rediscovered by Walter Bergmann in the 1940s and he published three of them through his work with the publisher, Schott. When you play them it rapidly becomes clear these are the work of someone who really understood the recorder. Not only do the notes lie easily under the fingers, but he has a quirky approach to articulation, adding slurs and staccato to the music where most other composers of the day left such musical decisions entirely to the performer.

The C major Sonata is one of my favourites from this set, recorded here by Frans Bruggen way back in 1972. The opening Adagio is remarkably florid and feels quite operatic at times, with its chromatic moments and highly ornamented lines. The recorder and basso continuo lines are very much equal partners throughout the sonata and there’s a lovely sense of conversation in the Allegro.

Benedetto Marcello - Sonata in F Op.2 No.12

Flauto Veneziano - Dorothee Oberlinger (recorder), Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca

Deutsche HM: 88697988632

Listen to the complete album here.

Sheet music - Modern edition or 18th century facsimile

Benedetto Marcello

Like Barsanti, Marcello (1686-1739) also worked in the law, although Marcello did this in parallel with his musical life under pressure from his father. While living in Venice he was a pupil of Antonio Lotti and followed his teacher in composing a vast array of music, including instrumental pieces, hundreds of cantatas and many operas. Alongside the music his satirical pamphlet Il teatro alla moda (1720) became very popular in his lifetime, although initially it was published anonymously. In it he mercilessly criticises Italian opera of the period, from its artificial storylines, extravagant staging and the vanity of the singers.

He offers the following satirical advice to composers and singers:

"The modern Music Composer should possess no knowledge about the Rules of good composition, except for some principle of universal practice... He should not understand the numeric Musical Proportions, nor the optimal effect of contrary Motions, or the bad Relation of Tritones and augmented Intervals."

"To the Singers – It is not necessary that the VIRTUOSO can read, or write, or have a good pronunciation of vowels, and of single and double Consonants, or understand the sense of Words, etc., but it is better if he mistakes Senses, Letters, Syllables, etc., in order to perform Ornaments, Trills, Appoggiature, very long Cadences, etc. etc. etc."

Ironically, by the time this piece was published Marcello had himself already composed one opera of his own and subsequently wrote several more, although I wouldn’t like to say whether or not he followed his own advice!

This sonata is the final one from his Op.2 set, composed early in his career. Most sonatas from this period comprise three or four movements, but here Marcello goes for five, two of which take the form of dances from the period - a Minuet and Gavotte. He finishes the work with a beautiful Ciaccona, which is based around a repeating four bar bassline. Unlike a ground bass (where the continuo team play the same bassline throughout) in a ciaccona (or chaconne) the accompaniment explores the melodic and harmonic possibilities of this sequence, gradually becoming an equal partner with the recorder line.

Francesco Mancini (1672 – 1737) Sonata No.4 in A minor

Francesco Mancini: Six Recorder Sonatas - Yi-Chang Liang, Machiko Suto & Ensemble IJ SPACE

Claves: CD1907

Listen to the complete album here.

Sheet music - Modern edition or 18th century facsimile

Francesco Mancini (1672-1737) hailed from Naples, and is one of a number of composers who benefitted from Alessandro Scarlatti’s absence from the Neapolitan court between 1702 and 1708. During this time he was Director of the Conservatorio di S Maria di Loreto and maestro of the Capella Reale. On Scarlatti’s return he resumed his original role as his deputy, finally taking a step up once again on the elder composer’s death in 1725.

I introduced you to Mancini’s charming recorder sonatas in my October 2023 Sounding Pipes playlist, but I couldn’t resist including another of my favourites here, beautifully performed by Yi-Chang Liang. You can sense Mancini’s experience as a composer of opera here, especially in the first movement with its sudden contrasts of mood and tempo.

Paolo Benedetto Bellinzani - Sonata in D minor Op.3 No.12

Upon a Ground - Tabea Debus (recorder), Lea Rahel Bader (baroque cello), Johannes Lang (harpsichord), Kohei Ota (theorbo), Jan Croonenbroeck (organ)

Classic Clips: CLCL12

Listen to the complete album here.

Sheet music - modern edition or 18th century facsimile

Sources of information on Paolo Benedetto Bellinzani (1682-1757) seem to be rather sparse, but he was evidently an active composer, writing lots of vocal music. However, he also produced a collection of twelve recorder sonatas, a handful of which have been edited into modern playing editions.

This sonata is utterly intriguing. The opening Largo is rather abstract in its form, exploring constantly shifting harmonies rather than going for clear melodic lines. This is followed by a typical lively Allegro but from here it becomes ever more dramatic. Movement three is a solo for harpsichord (fully written out in the 18th century edition) which gives the recorder player a chance to breathe and creates a sizeable introduction to the final movement. The Sonata climaxes with an exciting set of variations on La Follia - a popular melodic and harmonic progression which has been used by composers from the 15th century to the present day.

Tabea Debus has chosen to use a large continuo team for this recording, comprising organ, harpsichord, cello and baroque guitar. They play with a remarkably light touch for such a large ensemble and I love the variety of tonal colours they’re able to create. There are moments which feel positively ecclesiastical (recorder and organ for instance) which contrast with other variations played with a sense of wild abandon in keeping with La Follia’s Iberian origins.

Diogenio Bigaglia - Sonata in A minor - descant recorder

Corelli & Co - Parnassus Avenue - Dan Laurin (recorders), Hanneke van Proosdij (harpsichord, organ, recorder), David Tayler (theorbo/baroque guitar), Tanya Tomkins (cello)

BIS: BISCD945

Listen to the complete album here

Sheet music - modern edition.

The majority of solo recorder repertoire from the Baroque was composed for the treble, so this delightful sonata for descant by Diogenio Bigaglia (c.1678-1745) immediately stands out from the crowd. Bigaglia was well respected by his peers (including notable composers such as Vivaldi, Marcello and Albinoni) but today he’s all but vanished into obscurity. He joined a Benedictine monastery in Venice when he was just sixteen, but continued to compose both instrumental and vocal music alongside his role there.

This sonata is probably the best known of his works today, but if this whets your appetite, Bigaglia’s Opus 1 set of sonatas is also worth exploring. The title page labels them as sonatas for violin or flute (meaning recorder) and continuo. This was a common strategy during the Baroque (both Handel and Telemann did the same), perhaps because composer knew the music would work on either instrument, or more likely because it gave the potential for greater sales!

Francesco Maria Veracini - Sonata no.6 for violin or recorder

Vivaldiana - Michael Form (recorder), Dirk Börner (harpsichord), Melanie Flahaut (bassoon) & Delphine Biron (cello)

Pan Classics: PC10255

Listen to the complete album here

Sheet music - 18th century facsimile

Francesco Veracini

Veracini’s Twelve Sonatas for violin or recorder (another multipurpose set, like Bigaglia’s Sonatas mentioned above) were composed for Prince Friedrich August when he visited Italy to recruit musicians for the court in Dresden. Ultimately he hired an entire opera company, including Antonio Lotti as director and the famous castrato Senesino. The company included violinist Veracini, who was reputedly paid a very high salary. Already a well known violin virtuoso, he was required to compose music for the court and in 1717 became Kapellmeister in Dresden.

Veracini had a fearsome reputation, both as a violinist and for his arrogance. A quarrel with one of his fellow musicians led to a fall from an upstairs window which broke Veracini’s leg. There are conflicting accounts of the incident (did he jump or was he pushed?) but it seems the other court musicians were relieved to be rid of Veracini when he fled Dresden afterwards.

In the sonata I’m sharing here, Michael Form creates a virtuosic performance which I imagine would have delighted Veracini. Alongside his reputation as a player, Veracini was widely recognised as a stylish and talented composer. The music historian Charles Burney said of him, "he had certainly a great share of whim and caprice, but he built his freaks on a good foundation, being an excellent contrapuntist". Michael Form has chosen to reflect this ‘whim and caprice’ with his endlessly creative ornamentation and I hope you find his infectious sense of joy as pleasing as I do.

Giuseppe Sammartini - Sonata in F major Sibley No.23

Sammartini - Sonatas for recorder & bass continuo - Maurice Steger (recorders), Sergio Ciomei (harpsichord & organ), Mauro Valli (cello), Christian Beuse (bassoon), Margret Köll (harp), Eduardo Egüez (theorbo & guitar) & Naoki Kitaya (organ)

Harmonia Mundi: HMC905266

Listen to the complete album here

Sheet music - 18th century facsimile

My final Italian sonata comes from another composer who was one of the most respected performers of his time - Giuseppe Sammartini (1695-1750). Originally from Milan, Sammartini spent the majority of his working life in London where he gained a reputation as "the greatest oboist the world had ever known". He was reputed to be able to make the oboe sound like the human voice, such was the beauty of his tone. Like most woodwind players of the day, he also played recorder and flute, working in Handel’s orchestra and many others besides. He later worked closely with Haydn, playing a part in the development of the younger composer’s classical style.

Giuseppe Sammartini

In this sonata, Sammartini’s development of the Baroque style into something even more expressive is immediately clear. Most composers of the period chose a single tempo for each movement, but Sammartini explores the dramatic possibilities of shifting the boundaries. Nowhere is this more evident than the second movement, which veers dramatically between a jaunty Allegro and slower improvisatory sections, packed with extreme emotions. As if this wasn’t enough, he continues with an astonishing Adagio, so dramatic it sounds positively operatic. Having comprehensively wrung out our nerves, the final movement is one of pure joy, allowing us a moment to come back to earth again!

~ ~ ~

There ends our brief sojourn to Italy - one I hope that’s been both inspiring and entertaining for you. It’s easy to be distracted by the big names of the Baroque period, but I hope perhaps this has opened your eyes to some of the other composers who wrote for the recorder. Do you have a favourite Italian sonata I’ve missed, perhaps by another composer? If there are other pieces you would include among your favourites please do tell us about them in the comments below - I’d love to hear which Italian Baroque composers you just couldn’t live without!

Composer focus - George Frideric Handel

I imagine most recorder players are familiar with at least some of Handel’s sonatas - which is your favourite? They’re a staple of the recorder’s Baroque repertoire and, while we’re not averse to borrowing music from other places, it’s always a pleasure to return to music which was genuinely written for our instrument, if only because it fits the instrument like a glove.

This week’s blog explores the history of these sonatas, revealing a fascinating tale of underhand publishing practices. We’ll also take a closer look at the individual sonatas and some performances which I hope will inspire and delight you. If you’ve not yet played these delightful pieces maybe this will inspire you to explore further…

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Handel’s neat manuscript in his fair copy of the F Major Sonata

Handel wrote his six recorder sonatas around 1712, the period when he moved permanently to London. Autograph manuscripts still exist for all six sonatas (although the C major Sonata manuscript is missing two pages), stored at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge and the British Museum. The manuscripts for the first four Sonatas (G minor, A minor, C major and F major respectively) are neat and clear. They’re written on Italian paper of the type Handel would probably have bought on his travels in Italy in the early years of the 18th century. The style of script is that used by Handel when writing up fair copies of his works, although not long after this he began to use a copyist to do this on his behalf.

In contrast, the manuscripts of the B flat major and D minor sonatas are much less tidy - evidently working copies from Handel’s compositional process. As you can see in this example from the D minor Sonata, there are definite drawbacks when you have to work in ink rather than pencil…

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Corrections in the D Minor Sonata manuscript

The rocky road to publication

The story behind the early publications of Handel’s recorder sonatas is full of subterfuge and industrial espionage.

To the uninformed eye it would be easy to assume the first person to publish Handel’s sonatas was Jeanne Roger, in Amsterdam. But appearances can be misleading….

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John Walsh’s fake cover for his first edition, supposedly published by Jeanne Roger.

Around 1730 English publisher, John Walsh (c.1665-1736) acquired a copy of Handel’s sonatas ‘without consent or approbation’ of the composer. He was keen to publish them, but the two men weren’t on good terms at the time. Walsh had a previous arrangement with Jeanne Roger to engrave some of Handel’s harpsichord music on her behalf which she then published with her own title page. This happened around 1719, just three years before Roger died.

Sometime between 1726 and 1732 Walsh went ahead and engraved his own edition of the recorder sonatas, even though he didn’t have Handel’s consent. To overcome this he used the same strategy, creating a title page emulating that of Jeanne Roger. The typesetting within the music itself is clearly that of Walsh’s own engravers, but the earlier arrangement with Roger must have given him the confidence to make this edition with a fake Roger title page. Of course, he would also have known by this stage that Jeanne Roger had died in 1722 so she couldn’t complain even if she wanted to!

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Walsh’s second edition

In time relations between Handel and Walsh improved and the Englishman, and in 1732 he was able to publish a new and improved second edition. A lot of the errors Walsh’s engravers introduced to his illegal edition were corrected here, although some of the changes are dubious, contradicting Handel’s own manuscripts.

On the death of John Walsh senior in 1736 his son, also called John, took over the business. His relationship with the composer was less troublesome, and Handel probably realised his music was going to be published by Walsh whether he liked it or not. Editions created by John Walsh junior contain fewer errors, suggesting perhaps Handel was also involved with their creation. In October 1739 he was finally appointed as Handel’s sole publisher for the next fourteen years.

Walsh’s position as Handel’s official publisher was no doubt a positive arrangement for both men, and Handel later dedicated his Op.4 organ concerti to Walsh. The business thrived under his auspices, often selling the work of other publishers and absorbing smaller publishers upon their liquidation. When he died in 1766 he left £40,000 (about £5.5M in today’s money) and the publishing business continued with William Randall at the helm.

I’ve collected the various manuscripts and early editions together so if you’re interested in exploring them further you’ll find them in the Resources section at the end of this blog.

Why no mention of recorder on the title page?

Walsh’s new ‘official’ edition didn’t just contain the recorder sonatas we know today, but included no fewer than twelve ‘Solos for German Flute [what we think of today as flute], a Hoboy [oboe], or Violin, with a Thorough Bass for the harpsichord or bass violin.’ Walsh, was a canny businessman and wanted to sell as many copies as possible, so it made sense to advertise the music as being suitable for several instruments.

The recorder’s popularity in England was waning by this time, so he evidently didn’t feel it worth mentioning the recorder (or flauto as it would have been known in England) on the title page. However, the sonatas intended for our instrument are clearly marked ‘flauto’, even if Walsh wanted his buyers to consider playing them on other instruments too.

By 1734 Walsh was advertising these sonatas as Handel’s Opus 1, although this classification was never used by Handel and never appeared on the title page of any publication. Between 1978 and 1986 Bernd Baselt created a comprehensive catalogue of Handel’s music, listing every known piece in musical categories with HWV numbers. The recorder sonatas’ numbers range from 360 to 377, mixed in among Handel’s solo sonatas for other instruments.

Recorder sonatas as exercises for a royal princess

There’s a theory that Handel may have used some of his recorder sonatas as exercises in basso continuo playing.

Between December 1725 and April 1726 Handel made fair copies of some exercises in figured bass and fugal composition - probably for teaching purposes. It’s thought perhaps they were made for Princess Anne, King George II’s daughter, a pupil of Handel’s who’s known to have been a fine harpsichordist and skilled continuo player. These exercises were made on the same paper as the fair copies of his recorder sonatas, as well as having similarities in calligraphy so maybe he wrote them out at the same time?

At this time the keyboard player would have created their part using the bassline, adding chords as indicated by the figures beneath the music. These numbers are a shorthand to tell the harpsichordist which chords to play above the bassline but it wasn’t uncommon for them to be quite infrequent and imprecise. The bass lines for the four sonatas (those in G minor, A minor, C major and F major) in Handel’s fair copies are unusually well figured (as well as being neatly written) and it’s been suggested they were perhaps used as additional teaching tool for use with the Princess, and maybe other pupils too.

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The first page of the G minor sonata, showing the copious amounts of figured bass. Click on this or any of the images to see them enlarged.

Why shouldn’t you use a good tune more than once?

We’re familiar with the concept of recycling to help the planet these days, but Handel was doing this with his music two and half centuries ago. Not content with using a good tune just once, sometimes he’d give a second or even third life to melodic lines! Every one of the recorder sonatas is reused in some way or another. Sometimes Handel just recycles a single line. For instance the bassline of the opening movement of the A minor Sonata is a reuse of the bass from Pur ritorno a rimirarvi, an aria from his 1709 opera Agrippina.

In contrast, the three complete movements of the B flat major Sonata do double time. The opening Allegro is used in 1726 in the Overture to Scipione. Meanwhile, the second movement became the slow movement of an organ concerto in 1735. Finally, the third movement also serves as the third movement of a Violin Concerto in A major in 1712 - around the same time we believe he wrote the recorder sonatas.

Take a listen to this recording of the Overture to Scipione and you’ll hear not just the B flat Sonata, but the second movement of the C major one too!

Let’s now take a look at the six sonatas in turn and I’ll suggest some recordings you might find inspiring and entertaining too.

Sonata in G minor, HWV360

In the first of his recorder sonatas Handel follows the typical Baroque pattern of four movements, alternating slow and fast tempi. The second movement is only marked Andante, but the music is energised from bar five, when the bass sets off in a sequence of semiquaver passages. Handel continues to give the bassline a good workout in the fourth movement, with a moto-perpetuo of running quavers while the recorder parts jogs along in a more relaxed fashion above.

These Sonatas can be accompanied in a variety of ways. The most familiar combination is to have a cello or viola da gamba playing the bassline, with harpsichord completing the harmonies indicated in the figured bass. However, there’s no reason why you can’t use different combinations, as we’ll see in some of the other recordings I’ve chosen. In Pamela Thorby’s performance she’s chosen a simple organ accompaniment, provided by Richard Egarr. I love this low key approach in this particular sonata and it complements the melancholic mood beautifully.

Pamela Thorby (recorder) and Richard Egarr (harpsichord and organ) - Handel Recorder Sonatas Linn Recorders CKD223

Sonata in A minor, HWV362

The bassline always played a crucial role in the Baroque era, setting the music’s rhythmic and harmonic shape. This is certainly true of the A minor Sonata but it also takes an equal melodic role with the recorder. This is especially true in the opening Larghetto, where it creates an athletic yet lulling counterpart to the recorder.

The rhythm in both parts is a curious mix of dotted rhythms (both dotted crotchets and dotted quavers) and triplets. If played exactly as notated the result is very angular and lacks flow, so in practice it’s usually evened out to create a lilting meter which feels more like a 9/8 time signature. The process of playing a different rhythm to that notated can be discombobulating to newcomers. I recall a class of mine at summer school many years ago tying themselves in knots about the exact mathematical length of each note! Handel probably notated the music this way for simplicity, knowing players of the day would understand he meant them to rationalise the rhythms to create a flowing line. Our twenty first century eyes and brains are used to playing precisely what the composer wrote and it can feel strange to veer away from this.

Take a careful listen to Dan Laurin’s beautiful performance and you’ll hear how he makes the dotted quaver rhythms relaxed and triplety, while the dotted crotchets are slightly over-dotted. The result is that everything seamlessly flows along with the triplets.

Dan Laurin (recorder), Hidemi Suzuki (cello), Masaaki Suzuki (harpsichord/organ) - Handel The Recorder Sonatas BIS Records BISCD955

The remainder of the Sonata is just as wonderful. The second movement bounces along for the recorder, while the bassline has a real workout with never ending runs of broken chords. I recall accompanying a pupil for this movement at school many years ago with a piano whose key action was rather heavy and those semiquavers nearly crippled me! Played on a harpsichord though it’s great fun and gives an amazing sense of drive to the music.

Sonata in C major, HWV365

In his third sonata Handel diverges from the familiar three or four movement format, throwing in a fifth for good measure. The opening Larghetto is a glorious melody, accompanied by a walking bass - the perfect opportunity to try out some melodic ornamentation through the musical sequences. Perhaps the most creative take I’ve ever heard on this piece was during a concert at the Northern Recorder Course. Daniel Koschitzki finished his recital with what we thought was a performance of this Larghetto as an encore. Accompanied on the piano, the harmonies gradually became more exotic, and before our ears the music morphed effortlessly into a jazz rendition of Somewhere over the rainbow!

In this recording Stefan Temmingh sticks with Handel’s original harmonies, but creates a wonderfully dramatic performance through his creative ornamentation and by responding flexibility to the dramatic moments in the harmonies.

Stefan Temmingh (recorder) & Wiebke Weidanz (harpsichord) - Handel The Recorder Sonatas Accent ACC24353

The movement that follows is a tremendously exciting conversation between the recorder and bass lines. This Allegro really needs a one in a bar feel to make it swing along and it’s important to look out for the many hemiolas along the way. The fourth movement purports to be a Gavotte, although I suspect most Baroque dancers might find it a little busier than other Gavottes of the period. Maybe this is Handel’s nod to the active theatre scene in 18th century London, as it wasn’t unusual for operatic overtures to include dance movements. The Sonata ends with a bonus fifth movement - another whirling piece in 3/8 which arguably makes more demands of the continuo team than the recorder player!

If you’d like an alternative view of the recorder sonatas, I found this fascinating curiosity while exploring. Tatty Theo has purloined the sonatas (as indeed recorder players are so often used to doing with music for other instruments!) for the cello and, despite the lower pitch I think they translate very well.

The Brook Street Band - Handel Sonatas for Cello Avie AV2118

Sonata in F major, HWV369

The F major Sonata is often the place recorder players begin their journey with Handel. The music may be less technically demanding but there are some beautiful melodic lines and lots of opportunities to explore the possibilities in terms of ornamentation. The opening movement in particular is a wonderful blank canvas for you to experiment with ornamentation - not just cadential trills, but adding melodic shapes too.

Olwen Foulkes’ recording of this Sonata comes from a disc, Directed by Handel, devoted to the music performed in the London theatres where Handel worked. I’ve chosen the joyful Gigue which is yet another piece where Handel chose to recycle a good tune. The opening bars of this movement also appear in a trio sonata for two recorders which you may already have explored when I shared it as a ‘trio minus one’ earlier this year. You can find the music and videos for the Trio Sonata here if you want to try it out for yourself.

Olwen Foulkes (recoder), Nathaniel Mander (harpsichord), Carina Drury (cello), Tabea Debus (bass recorder) & Toby Carr (theorbo) - Directed by Handel Barn Cottage Records

Handel’s theatre work brings us to yet another reuse of the F major sonata - this time as an organ concerto. Handel used several organ concertos as interval music for theatre performances of his oratorios in 1735, and in the Op.4 No.5 Concerto he simply reuses this Sonata wholesale, just adding a short a introduction to each movement.

The Academy of Ancient Music, Richard Egarr (organ & direction) - Handel Organ Concertos Op.4 - Harmonia Mundi HMU807446

Sonata in B flat major, HWV377

Handel’s B flat major Sonata is often known as a ‘Fitzwilliam Sonata’ (along with the D minor) on account of Thurstan Dart’s discovery of the manuscript at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge in 1948. This is the smallest of Handel’s sonatas, with just three movements, and is one of the works where we get to see his compositional process at work. In the snippet below, taken from the manuscript of the third movement, you can see Handel initially wrote a string of rising arpeggios. But later he returned to the work, crossing out the middle note of each group to simplify it to a crotchet-quaver pattern. I performed this very Sonata last month and I chose to add some arpeggios at this very point as ornamentation. it was only when I began researching this blog post that I realised that I’d unknowingly reinstated Handel’s originally musical idea as my arpeggios were identical to those shown below - what a spooky coincidence!

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One of the challenges when performing this particular sonata is getting a good balance between recorder and continuo, especially in the two Allegros. The recorder part is quite low in places, often at moments when the bassline is very active. David Antich overcomes this problem by using lute, cello and organ to play the continuo line. This creates a positively ethereal sound world and the gentler articulation of the organ reveals details which can be lost under the clatter of a harpsichord.

David Antich, Mediterrània Consort - Complete Recorder Sonatas IBS Classical IBS32022

Sonata in D minor, HWV367a

The final recorder sonata is also the longest - weighing in at an impressive seven movements! Two movements really stand out for me, the first being a Vivace in 3/2 time. Handel has bags of fun here, playing with syncopated rhythms in both the recorder and continuo. There are hemiolas galore and a number of phrases where you could also choose to explore the boundaries between the notated 3/2 time signature and bars which look more like 6/4.

Here I feel David Antich perfectly captures the sense of excitement and drive Handel wove into this wonderful music.

In both of Walsh’s editions of Handel’s Sonatas, this particular work appears in B minor for the flute, although the manuscript held at the Fitzwilliam Museum clearly shows Handel also intended it to be played in D minor on the recorder. Erik Bosgraaf takes a hybrid approach on his disc of Handel’s Sonatas by performing the B minor version on a voice flute - a tenor recorder in D. The effect is ravishingly beautiful, with Erik’s golden tone and effortless musicality. Perhaps the most astonishing movement though is the third - a Furioso which lives up to its name with a truly virtuoso performance!

Erik Bosgraaf (recorder), Ensemble Cordavento - Baroque Edition Brilliant Classics 96440

Resources:

When it comes to modern editions of Handel’s Sonatas there are many available, but two stand out for me.

Handel - The Complete Sonatas (Faber)

You really can’t go wrong with the 1979 volume of all six, edited by David Lasocki and Walter Bergmann. The volume contains reams of background information about the music, as well as clearly showing the differences between the various manuscripts and early published editions, allowing you, the performer, to make informed musical decisions.

Handel - Four Sonatas Op.1

A second edition worth looking at is Edgar Hunt’s volume containing the Sonatas in G minor, A minor, C major and F major. Edgar’s first edition of these works was published in 1940, when interest in early music was just beginning to grow. Forty years later he updated the edition, removing most of the editorial suggestions included in 1940 and offering a straightforward, un-distracting continuo realisation by harpsichordist Maria Boxall. The edition also comes with a printed copy of the Walsh edition so you can compare the two.

One curiosity of this edition is Edgar’s approach to the A minor Sonata, where he attempts to clarify the notational issues I talked about earlier. Here he converts the original 3/4 time signature to 9/8, evening out the dotted rhythms and triplets as most performers do in any case. This approach will probably infuriate Baroque notational purists, but some may find this less confusing, and you can always refer back to the facsimile of the Walsh edition to compare with Handel’s original rhythms.

Returning to 18th century sources

If the thought of playing from the music as Handel would have known it appeals to you, there are several options. With the exception of the C major Sonata (which is missing a couple of pages) it’s possible to work from Handel’s own manuscripts as all are available online. I’ve collected all six together into one PDF file which you can download by clicking on the button below.

If Handel’s handwriting is a little too scruffy for you to read, you could try the two 18th century editions I talked about earlier. For someone who’s used to reading 21st century computer typeset music these facsimiles may feel a little alien, but once you tune your eye into the noation they’re remarkably easy to interpret. Both these and Handel’s manuscripts also give you the ability to see what the bassline is doing while you’re playing as both parts appear together on the page. This is immensely helpful as you can instantly see how the two lines interact with each other, rather than playing your line in isolation.

Both 18th century editions can be downloaded via the buttons below. Remember, they also contain sonatas which are suitable for flute, oboe or violin, so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t try these too. To do this you may need to use the tenor recorder instead of the treble and perhaps adjust occasional high notes an octave lower to make them fit comfortably.

Are you lacking a continuo team?

If you want to play these sonatas but don’t have a tame harpsichordist you have several options. As we’ve seen, the bass lines are very much equal partners to the recorder line, so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t get togther with a bass recorder playing friend and try them as duets. There will be places where the bass line travels beyond the bottom note of a bass recorder, but then that problem is easily conquered by transposing the occasional note or phrase an octave higher.

Another option is to use a backing track to play along with, just as you might with my consort music downloads. I’ve found two options for this, although there may be others out there,. One of these is a free resource, while the other costs only a modest amount.

Continuo Lines - This is a project set up by recorder player Tabea Debus and harpsichordist Benedict Williams to create backing tracks for many pieces of recorder music. The library is still growing but the F major Handel Sonata is already available. Each movement is available at a choice of three different tempi and four different pitches (A392, 415, 440 and 466) which gives lots of flexibility for different ability levels and types of instrument. The site also includes pieces by Barsanti, Corelli, Telemann and others, with more to come in the future. The downloads are free, but if you find them useful there is opportunity to make a contribution to help fund future developments. You can find Continuo Lines by clicking here.

Cat on the Keys - If you’re looking for backings tracks, editions of early music or practical courses on ornamentation and more this is a great resource. Among the backing tracks I found all six of Handel’s Recorder Sonatas, priced at a modest £4 per sonata. As with Continuo Lines, each movement is available with backing tracks at a variety of speeds and pitches and they are a great way to experience playing these works with harpsichord continuo. I bought and tried the D minor Sonata but there are dozens of recorder sonatas by other composers too, including Telemann, Mancini, Bach and many more. Clicking this link will take you direct to the Handel Sonatas, but I recommend exploring the site further as it’s a real treasure trove!

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If you’re already a fan of Handel’s Recorder Sonatas I hope today’s blog has inspired you to explore them further, but if you’re new to them I hope this may have opened your eyes to their possibilities. I’d love to know which Sonata is your favourite. Mine changes from day to day, but at this moment I think it’s the beautiful A minor sonata, with its meandering conversation between recorder and bass in the opening movement. Why not drop a comment below with your favourite sonata and if there are recordings you enjoy that I haven’t mentioned why not tell us about them too?

Composer focus – Georg Philipp Telemann

Who’s your favourite recorder composer? Are you a Baroque aficionado, or a fan of contemporary music? One of the things I love about my work is being able to help the musicians I meet discover new music and to enable them to play familiar pieces better. From time to time I’ll take a look at composers and the music they’ve written for the recorder, making suggestions for recordings you may enjoy along the way. For the first of these occasional posts I decided to begin with someone who played the recorder himself and wrote effortlessly for the instrument – Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767).

I’ll concentrate today on Telemann’s solo recorder sonatas, but our favourite instrument features in much more of his music so I’ll return to that in a later post. Even if you don’t often play solo repertoire yourself, I encourage you to read on as I hope you’ll discover something new and I’ve chosen lots of wonderful performances for you to listen to.

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Telemann may naturally spring to mind as a great composer to us, but he hasn’t always enjoyed universal popularity or been viewed with such esteem. By the nineteenth century he was dismissed by many musicologists as a polygraph – writing too much music, with quantity outweighing quality. The 1911 edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica referred to him very negatively in comparison with Bach and Handel, talking about "the vastly inferior work of lesser composers such as Telemann". Damning words, but if the writer of that sentence could have spoken to Telemann’s contemporaries, he’d have heard of a man whose musical expertise was very highly considered. He knew both J.S.Bach and Handel well and became godfather to Bach’s son, Carl Philipp Emanuel.

Telemann was self-taught in music and, like many 18th century musicians, was a multi-instrumentalist, playing the recorder, flute, oboe, violin, viola da gamba, double bass and other instruments too. His family made it clear they wished him to follow a different career, so initially he went into the law, later gravitating back to life as a full-time musician.

He was certainly prolific, composing over 3000 works – over three times the output of J.S.Bach! Sadly around half of these pieces have since been lost, but that still leaves us with a vast and varied repertoire. He loved absorbing different influences, bringing French, Italian, German and even Polish national styles into his writing. Composition evidently came easily to Telemann – his contemporary and friend Handel, once jokingly said that he "could write a church piece in eight parts with the same expedition another would write a letter".

The largest part of Telemann’s working life (1721-1767) was spent in Hamburg, where he was employed to write music for all five of the city’s churches. It’s reputed that his salary was about three times what Bach was paid for a similar role in Leipzig so the city evidently appreciated his talents. In 1722 a search was made for a new Kantor at Leipzig’s Thomaskirche and Telemann was first choice for the job. Ultimately Hamburg city council wouldn’t release him from his duties there, so he had to decline the job and the post was filled by Bach – although apparently he wasn’t even the second choice for the job!

Musician and businessman

Not only was Telemann a wonderful composer, but he was also a canny businessman. He made a point of pursuing exclusive publication rights for his works, setting an important early precedent regarding music as the intellectual property of the composer. Between 1725 and 1740 he published more than 40 volumes of music, which were widely distributed across Europe. One of these publishing ventures is particularly relevant to his recorder output as we’ll see later.

The recorder sonatas

It was common for Baroque composers to write sonatas which mention the recorder in their title pages. With many, they were aimed at as wide a market as possible, often listing the music as being suitable for two or three instruments, often a combination of recorder, flute, oboe or violin. Telemann did this too (for instance his Sonata in F minor can be played on recorder or bassoon) and no doubt this broadened his sales opportunities. But one gets a definite sense while playing his sonatas that the music was really intended for the recorder, using the full range of the instrument and playing to its strengths. In contrast, Handel’s recorder sonatas are beautiful, but they rarely utilise the higher notes and would just as easily sit on the flute or violin. In contrast, Telemann, as a recorder player himself, explores the instrument’s possibilities more fully and even specifies particular articulation in some works.

Telemann’s recorder sonatas come in three collections (plus a lone sonata which stands alone), numbering nine in total. There are other collections too, such as the Methodical Sonatas, originally composed for flute, which can be stolen by recorder players. But ‘borrowing’ flute repertoire usually requires transposing the music up a minor third (common practice by 18th century recorder players) and this can compromise the ease of playing because you sometimes end up in less comfortable keys. For the purposes of this blog post I’ll concentrate on the ‘pure’ recorder sonatas, but if you’re looking for further music to inspire and stretch you I also recommend the Methodical Sonatas. Each sonata begins with a slow movement which shows both the plain melodic lines and Telemann’s own florid ornamentation. they’re a wonderful lesson on the extremes one can explore while embellishing Baroque music and contain some exquisite music.

Der getreue Music-Meister

In 1728 Telemann came up with the idea for a music periodical – the first of its kind. Every two weeks he would publish a new ‘Lection’ or lesson, containing freshly composed music.

The title page is inscribed thus:

“The faithful Music-Master, who intends to supply all kinds of musical pieces, as much for singers as for instrumentalists, for various voices and nearly all customary instruments, and also moral, operatic, and other arias and TRIOS, DUETS, SOLOS etc. SONATAS, OUVERTURES, etc., and also containing FUGUES, COUNTERPOINTS, CANONS, etc. hence almost everything which occurs in music, intended to be played according to the Italian, French, English, Polish, and as much serious as lively and entertaining manner, every 14 days in one LECTION by Telemann.”

Der getreue Music-Meister stretched to no new fewer than twenty five editions, published during 1728 and 1729. Telemann showed a streak of publishing genius here, including a variety of single movements in each edition. This meant that if you wanted to play a complete sonata you had to keep up your subscription to collect all the movements!

The first piece in Telemann’s Der getreue Music-Meister is the Recorder Sonata in F

Dotted through Der getreue Music-Meister you’ll find four solo sonatas for recorder, as well as Telemann’s wonderful ‘Girlfriends’ trio sonata (two recorders and basso continuo) which depicts women from classical history.

Many recorder players will start their explorations of Telemann’s recorder music with the Sonata in F major, which is only modestly challenging. For those who’d like to try playing this sonata with accompaniment, but don’t have a tame accompanist, I recommend looking at Tabea Debus’s Continuo Lines website where you can download performances of the three movements at different tempi. Tabea is planning to gradually expand the variety of repertoire available so do have a root around and you may find some other sonatas you’d like to explore with virtual continuo.

The F major Sonata is perhaps Telemann’s least demanding from a technical standpoint, although it does require a little courage and positivity to play the top C (an octave higher than the one just about the treble stave) in the final movement. It’s here you see Telemann thinking as a recorder player himself - Handel would never have dreamt of using such extreme notes. But Telemann knows this highest note is appropriate as it occurs at the climax of the movement.

Sonata in F major, performed by Erik Bosgraaf

The Sonata in C major is a favourite of mine, and was one of the first pieces of Telemann’s I learnt as a teenager. Here you really get a sense of the composer’s familiarity with the recorder, exploiting the high register for climactic moments in the music. Telemann also includes articulation marks throughout the sonata, some of them quirky, but always stylish and perfectly suited to the instrument. The final Vivace is a real musical firework, with energetically leaping arpeggios and flurries of demisemiquavers which sound very virtuosic. Of course, Telemann innately knew how to write sympathetically for the recorder so these whizzy passages lie beautifully under the fingers.

Sonata in C major, performed by Hyowon Lee

Perhaps the least well known of the recorder sonatas in Der getreue Music-Meister is the Sonata in B flat major. Unusually, this work is written as a strict canon, with the bassline following the recorder part at a few beats distance. In some hands such strict canonic writing would limit the possibilities of the music, but Telemann uses just as much variety and creativity as in his other sonatas.

Sonata in B flat, performed by Clas Pehrsson

Finally we have the Sonata in F minor, which Telemann suggests as being for recorder or bassoon. Here he ventures into a much darker soundworld, opening with a deliciously dramatic and chromatic Triste. The Allegro and Vivace movements are some of Telemann’s most finger-twisting, and a good grasp of flat key scales and arpeggios is a must if you’re to feel at home in F minor. It’s worth persevering though, as being at ease with this music will free you up to explore the dramatic possibilities of the music.

Sonata in F minor, performed by Erik Bosgraaf

As I researched this blog post I learnt it’s not just recorder players who pilfer music from other instruments and I couldn’t resist sharing another performance of the F minor Sonata with you - this time impeccably played on the trombone by Stefan Schulz!

Essercizii Musici

Telemann continued to explore the possibilities of publishing mixed collections of chamber music later in his life, and around 1739 he came up with Essercizii Musici. This collection contains two sets of twelve sonatas for one or two instruments and continuo, featuring combinations of recorder, flute, violin, oboe and viola da gamba, alongside a series of suites for solo harpsichord. Essercizii Musici includes two solo sonatas for recorder which, I think, are among his best.

In the Sonata in C major Telemann experiments with a fluidity of writing, shifting seamlesslybetween Adagio and Allegro tempi. Unusually the lilting Larghetto which follows is in F minor, offering a brief moment of serenity before the fireworks recommence in the final Vivace.

Sonata in C major, performed by Pamela Thorby

The second recorder work in this collection is the Sonata in D minor – my favourite among Telemann’s solo sonatas. This is Telemann at his most daring, with immense drama, big contrasts of dynamic and rapid mood swings.

The opening lines of the D minor Sonata, showing Telemann’s daring use of dynamics

Many a time I’ve programmed this piece as the finale of a recital (a role it fulfils perfectly), only to wonder what possessed me when I remember how much energy it demands at the end of a long concert! Erik Bosgraaf captures the drama perfectly in this performance, particularly with the seamless transition into a positively operatic Grave.

Sonata in D minor, performed by Erik Bosgraaf

The Recorder Sonatinas

Published 1731, Telemann’s two Sonatinas for recorder were part of a collection titled Neue Sonatinen für Clavier, Violine, Flûte trav und Flûte à bec. For a long while the bassline for these sonatas was lost, but a few years ago a complete manuscript of the same works (this time presented as violin sonatas) was discovered in Dresden. This discovery made it possible to perform the Sonatinas asnthe composer intended, although they are still less commonly heard than Telemann’s other recorder sonatas.

Both these works begin to look ahead, musically speaking, with a style which hints at the Galant – that transition between Baroque and Classical – especially in the effortlessly elegant slow movements.

In many ways the Sonatina in A minor feels like a close sibling of Telemann’s other minor key sonatas, exploring virtuosity and sinuous chromatic passages.  

Sonatina in A minor, performed by Stefan Temingh

The Sonatina in C minor is another piece which seems somewhat operatic to me, with contrasts of mood and unexpected shifts of harmony.

Sonatina in C minor, performed by Maurice Steger

Sonata in F minor

This final sonata is something of an outlier, and can be found in a single manuscript at the Bibliotheque du Conservatoire in Brussels. It’s less dramatic than Telemann’s others and perhaps feels like a more ‘generic’ Baroque sonata. That said, I do have a fondness for the opening Adagio, especially in this beautifully expressive performance by Saskia Coolen.

Recommended editions

There are countless editions of Telemann’s recorder sonatas, so I won’t go through each in turn. If you want a good, clean, complete edition you can’t go far wrong with Bernard Thomas’s Complete Original Recorder Sonatas published by Dolce (DOL124). Hortus Musicus publish a good edition of the sonatas from Der getreue Music-Meister (edition number HM6) and I’d recommend the Amadeus edition of the two Essercizii Musici sonatas (BP2052).

Of course, if you want to explore this wonderful repertoire before buying a published edition, it’s worth heading over to Telemann’s page on IMSLP and typing recorder into the ‘Search category’ box halfway down the page for copyright free editions.

Facsimile editions of both Der getreue Music-Meister and Essercizii Musici are available and both are quite easily read by modern eyes too. Both collections are published by Musica Repartita – MR250 for the former, and MR251 for the latter.

Further listening

It’s been a pleasure to explore the many recordings of Telemann’s Sonatas while researching this blog post and I’ve discovered some wonderful performances which I’ll keep returning to. Here are a few of my favourites:

• Telemann: The Recorder Sonatas – Erik Bosgraaf & Francesco Corti (Brilliant Classics) Wonderfully dramatic performances and you can see videos of Erik playing most of them on his YouTube channel too.

• Telemann Recorder Sonatas and Fantasias – Pamela Thorby with Peter Whelan, Alison McGillivray, Elizabeth Kenny & Marcin Świątkiewicz (Linn records) Pamela’s performance of the Essercizii Musici C major Sonata is wonderfully organic and the Fantasias are a lovely bonus. The continuo team is a mix of cello, lute, harpsichord and organ, creating great variety.

• Telemann Recorder Sonatas and Fantasias – Frans Bruggen, Anner Bylsma & Gustav Leonhardt (Apex) These feel a little dated in places now, but worth exploring as in their time they were some of the best.

• Telemann Sonatas No.1-7 – Saskia Coolen, Margriet Tindemans & Peter Watshorn (Globe). I particularly love Saskia’s spacious approach to the Affettuoso of the D minor Sonata. 

• Telemann Solo and Trio Sonatas – Maurice Steger, Continuo Consort & Naoki Kitaya (Claves) – a real showman and it’s a joy to hear some of Telemann’s exquisite trio sonatas here too.

• Telemann Cantatas for soprano and recorder – Stefan Temmingh, Dorothee Mields and continuo (Accent). A particularly lovely performance of the A minor Sonatina alongside cantatas and trio sonatas which all feature the recorder.

If you’ve enjoyed this romp through Telemann’s recorder sonatas please do let me know in the comments below which other composers you’d like me to explore. The recorder’s repertoire is enormously varied and I hope these posts may help you discover music, familiar and unknown, for our favourite instrument.

Likewise, if you have favourite editions of these works or other recordings you particularly enjoy do tell us about them in the comments below.