Six trio sonatas, Op. 1 vol.1

SKU: HH.HH587-FSP

ISBN 9790708213024.

Fisher’s Op. 2 set is externally very similar to its Op. 1 predecessor in its combinations of movement types and musical language, but now has an added spaciousness and audacity born of greater maturity. Everything is wonderfully blended: the fugal movements are melodious; the ‘singing allegros’ are harmonically rich and contrapuntally charged; the dance-like movements, full of happy surprises, fizz and purr. Op. 2 appeared in print only in the year following Fisher’s death. Surprisingly in the circumstances, the level of accuracy in the engraved parts matched the high standard set by Op. 1. This would have gratified the composer, who was so evidently a perfectionist in all he undertook.

SKU: CY.CC2784

Purcell's Trio Sonatas of 1683 are a blend or hybrid of French and Italian Baroque 17th Century musical styles. The six Sonatas of Volume 1 alternate between major and minor keys. Each work consists of several short movements, ranging between melancholy and joyous.

Especially delightful are the dissonances that the composer intersperses throughout each work. Each Sonata is about 6-7 minutes in length and they are an absolute delight to perform.

For advanced performers.

SKU: J1.4160

8.26 x 11.28 inches.

Trio Sonata D minor, op. 16-1
Trio Sonata C Major, Op. 16-2.

SKU: HL.49003207

ISBN 9790220119194. UPC: 073999475760. 9.0x12.0x0.264 inches.

The 6 Trio Sonatas, Op. V, for 2 Violins or Flutes and Basso continuo were originally published in Amsterdam in 1736 under the supervision of the composer. The present edition * edited by Piera Federici with realization of the Basso continuo by Filippo Ravizza * is based on the text of the Critical Edition published in association with the Stichting-Fondazione Pietro Antonio Locatelli, Amsterdam-Cremona, under the direction of Albert Dunning.

SKU: HH.HH585-FSP

ISBN 9790708213000.

Stanley Sadie’s opinion, expressed in 1963, that the two of the twelve trio sonatas by Frederick Ernest Fisher(1711/12–1760), divided equally between Op. 1 (c.1751) and Op. 2 (c.1761), were ‘among the finest of their time’ while some of the others were ‘remarkably inventive and original’ almost sells this composer short. Every single one of these works, scored for two violins, cello and harpsichord, is masterly and deserves a permanent place in the repertoire. Born in or near Kassel, Fisher spent several years in Holland, teaching music from 1741 to 1745 at the university of Leiden, before emigrating to England. After spending about two years in London he settled permanently in Cambridge, where he taught music to members of the local music society. His Op. 1 set, dedicated to the same society, epitomizes the ‘social’ character of the trio sonata genre, where individual virtuosity yields its place to amicable interaction between the players. Fisher was a cellist as well as a violinist, and this background is brought out by the rare eloquence of his bass lines. The diversity of movement types in these ordinarily three-movement sonatas is very attractive. They include powerful fugues, expansive movements in sonata form, languorous middle movements reminiscent of those in operatic overtures and a selection of dance movements, all of which mix baroque, galant and classical elements in a convincing synthesis.

SKU: UT.GCE-20

ISBN 9790215328259. 9 x 12 inches.

Given that appendices have since been included in other volumes, it now seems appropriate to compile an appendix for Volume 1A in the form of a separate publication, Volume 1C of the series. Even with a whole volume available, however, it is impossible to include all known arrangements. Such a publication would be of disproportionate size: it would require about 600 pages, due largely to the two complete or near-complete sets of concerto arrangements. The present volume thus includes only selections from these sets of concerto arrangements and also only a selection from Edward Finch’s complete set of arrangements in the form of transverse-flute sonatas. The smaller sets of arrangements—either as solo sonatas or as trio sonatas—are included in their entirety.
The available arrangements fall into three distinct categories: solo sonatas, trio sonatas, and concertos. There are fourteen arrangements by Edward Finch for transverse flute with figured bass; they are found in the so-called Armstrong-Finch manuscript and comprise a full set of twelve plus two duplicate versions. Four of these arrangements are included in the present volume. Three more arrangements for transverse flute or recorder with figured bass are found in anthologies of sonatas for these instruments published in the 1720s; they are all of them edited here. Geminiani’s Sonatas VII-XII were transformed into trio sonatas by Francesco Barsanti and published in this format in 1727. These arrangements are included here in complete form as well. A near-complete set of concerto arrangements—Sonata XI is missing—was composed by Charles Avison and a complete set by Gerhard Christoph Raupach, both sets composed probably in the 1730s. From each of these two sets, two examples were selected for inclusion in the present volume. They are supplemented by single concerto arrangements by William Hayes (after Sonata IV) and Johan Helmich Roman (after Sonata VI), composed at all probability in the 1730s as well. None of these concerto arrangements was published in the eighteenth century.