Michael Talbot

The six trio sonatas published alongside eight violin sonatas in his Op. 4 are works in four or five movements that felicitously mix the 'church' and 'chamber' styles in various configurations. This i...

They include this trio sonata written specifically for two oboes and bass. The extent to which wind instruments were cultivated in Italy in the early eighteenth century is today often not appreciated,...

Giuseppe Torelli (1658-1709) is today best known for his concertos for strings, in which genre he was a pioneer, and for his music with solo trumpet. In his own day, however, he was equally productive...

Giuseppe Torelli (1658-1709) was the leading composer of instrumental music in a flourishing school of composers active in Bologna in the second half of the seventeenth century and the opening decades...

Giuseppe Torelli (1658-1709) was the leading composer of instrumental music in a flourishing school of composers active in Bologna in the second half of the seventeenth century and the opening decades...

The six trio sonatas published alongside eight violin sonatas in his Op. 4 are works in four or five movements that felicitously mix the ‘church' and ‘chamber' styles in various configurations. This i...

In Sonata 3 in F major the opening Largo is styled as a 'Siciliana', an especially common type of movement in the flute repertory on account of the instrument's pastoral associations. The following Sp...

Sonata 7 in D major opens with a sunny Andante that nevertheless has a poignant moment just before the end. The technically challenging Allegro moderato that follows bounces along airily, throwing out...

Sonata 1 in D major opens with a Larghetto full of the rhetorical kind of expression one associates with Handel. It is followed by a busy Allegro and a concise Tempo di Minuetto movement that celebrat...

The Andante opening Sonata 3, in D minor, demonstrates Balicourt's mastery of a lyricism that is entirely natural and elegant without ever becoming bland. The vivacious Allegro that follows has an end...

Sonata 5, in A major, is the only work in the set to feature the classic three-movement design in its symmetrical fast-slow-fast configuration. The opening Vivace makes considerable demands on the fla...

In Sonata 7, in D major, Balicourt opens with a suave, intricately rhythmic Adagio. The following Presto, with its delightful interplay between flute and bass, including both octave doubling and stret...

The three 'Dresden' sonatas published together in this volume are believed to be the first-ever modern edition of any of his chamber music.The edition comes complete with a preface, textual notes, a r...

Typically for Bitti's earlier sonatas, the Sonata in B flat major that heads the London group features four movements in the standard configuration for chamber sonatas of the time: a prelude-like slow...

Typically for Bitti's earlier sonatas, the Sonata in C minor belonging to the London group features four movements in the standard configuration for chamber sonatas of the time: a prelude-like slow op...

Unusually for Bitti's earlier sonatas, the Sonata in G minor belonging to the London group features only three movements: a prelude-like slow opening movement full of melodic eloquence, followed by a...

The sonata in D minor captures the traditional mood of this key: serious-minded and a little plaintive. The second of its four movements, a corrente-like fast movement in triple metre, reminds one of...

In A minor, the seventh London sonata is serious and noble in tone, while displaying a dance-like character in its final three movements. It constitutes the perfect marriage between energetic and lyri...

This Sonata in A major, clearly belonging to the 'London' group but not preserved in the British Library manuscript containing seven similar works, was published by John Walsh in April 1704 as the sec...

The twelve 'Cambridge' sonatas, presented to Cardinal Ottoboni, represent the 'late', galant Bitti, full of lovingly sculpted ornamental detail for the violin but with the same resourceful harmony and...