Handel's Six Violin Sonatas. I

Author: (British) Handel
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-04-01
Features: Introduction to Handel's works -- "No. 1 Violin Sonata in A Major" (Six Violin Sonatas), this is an important chamber music work by Handel. These are Handel's very famous violin sonatas, all highly characterized by the violin. Therefore, he began composing them as violin sonatas. These pieces are generally composed of four movements: slow-fast-slow-fast, written in the form of Baroque sonatas. Essentially, each movement is somewhat similar to the others. Additionally, there is very little overall harmony, which is very much in the style of Handel. In terms of melody, it fully reflects the influence of Italian opera and oratorio arias. However, it seems Handel composed this piece under extremely rushed circumstances, so except for the second movement, the rest of the movements are either old compositions adapted or rearranged. Despite this, the entire piece remains coherent and unified, while also being quite substantial in content.