SKU: HH.HH509-FSP
ISBN 9790708185192.
The six Sonate a due violini e basso, published here for the first time, and known to us through a single non-autograph manuscript preserved in Sweden, are his only compositions in this last-mentioned genre. They stand out for their variety and elegance and constitute some of the best instrumental creations of this composer. In this edition – which comprises a score and separate parts – the numerous errors present in the manuscript are corrected, and a sample realization of the basso continuo is provided. Additionally, information is provided for the first time on the possible date of this collection via an analysis of musical concordances with dated compositions by the composer.
SKU: HH.HH591-FSC
ISBN 9781914137242.
Ordinary violin sonatas formed the backbone of the series of ten collections that the Italian violinist Michel Mascitti (1663/4–1760), born in southern Italy but permanently resident in Paris from 1703, committed to print between 1704 and 1738. His Op. 7 (1727) opens with eight such sonatas but ends with four concertos for strings in six parts that, alongside a collection of concertos for five flutes (!) by J.B. de Boismortier published in the same year, inaugurate the proud tradition of concertos created on French soil. Amazingly, Mascitti’s concertos have been neglected not merely by publishers and performers but also by commentators. In particular, the first two concertos display great musical merit in an original idiom that combines Italian and French influences in a very personal way. Further, their Italianate elements juxtapose features familiar from the concertos of Corelli, Mascitti’s reputed teacher, with ones more usually associated with Vivaldi. Both concertos are laden with emotion, albeit never at the expense of the polish and attention to detail that are the hallmark of Mascitti’s craft.
