Recorder sonata in D minor (HWV 367a)

The Recorder sonata in D minor (HWV 367a) was composed (circa 1725–26) by George Frideric Handel for recorder and keyboard (harpsichord). The work is also referred to as Opus 1 No. 9a. Another catalogue of Handel's music refers to the work as HHA iv/18,19,45 (there is no HG designation for the work).[1]

The sonata was published by Walsh in about 1730, in an "incredibly botched" edition purporting to be from the Amsterdam publisher Jean Roger, arranged by an unknown hand as a flute sonata in B minor (HWV 367b), shorn of its third and fourth movements and designated "op. 1, no. 9". The Walsh firm reissued it in the same form and under their own imprint in 1731 or 1732.[2] The Handel autograph manuscript is clearly for the recorder.

Both the Walsh edition and the Chrysander edition indicate that the work is for flute (Traversa), and published it as Sonata IX (in B minor).

Movements 1 to 5 of the work constitute the "Fitzwilliam Sonata No. III".

A typical performance of the work takes about fourteen and a half minutes.

Movements

The work consists of seven movements:

Movement Type Key signature Time signature Bars Notes
1 Largo D minor 4/4 19 Begins with a characteristically poised and noble melody. Concludes with an A major chord.
2 Vivace D minor 3/2 63 Two sections (23 and 40 bars)—each with repeat markings. In the rhythm of a hornpipe.
3 Presto D minor 4/4 34 Two sections (12 and 22 bars)—each with repeat markings. A virtuosic piece with rushing scales for both flute and continuo
4 Adagio D minor 3/4 21 Concludes with an A major chord.
5 Alla breve D minor 4/4 97 In cut-common time. In the 'Aylesford' collection the movement appears with the title, FUGE. A two-voice orthodoxly-argued fugue—with both voices receiving equal treatment
6 Andante D minor 4/4 20 Two sections (8 and 12 bars)—each with repeat markings.
7 A tempo di minuet D minor 6/8 19 Two sections (8 and 11 bars)—each with repeat markings.

(Movements do not contain repeat markings unless indicated. The number of bars is taken from the Chrysander edition, and is the raw number in the manuscript—not including repeat markings.)

See also

References

  1. ^ Anthony Hicks. "Handel, George Frideric", The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. S. Sadie and J. Tyrrell (London: Macmillan, 2001), x, 801.
  2. ^ Terence Best, "Handel's Chamber Music: Sources, Chronology and Authenticity", Early Music 13, no. 4 (November 1985): 476–99. Citation from 481–83.