Boismortier, Joseph Bodin de: Six sonatas Op. 71

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Addison, John: Six Sonatas for two violins (1772)

hh601.fsp

ed. Michael Talbot| Full score and parts | ISMN 979 0 708213 16 1 | Two unaccompanied violins |

£39.00

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Boismortier, Joseph Bodin de: Six sonatas Op. 71

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hh603.fsp

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Joseph Bodin de Boismortier (1689–1755) — the ‘French Telemann’ — was perhaps the most prolific and experimental composer working in France during the period 1724–47. His Six Sonates a deux violons Op. 71 were published in 1738, but it can be assumed that few copies were printed, as all recent catalogues of the composer’s works describe the set as ‘lost’. In 1981, however, a surviving copy was deposited at the Bibliothèque municipale de Lyon, yet scholars appear to have been unaware of its location until now.

The full title of Op. 71 — Six Sonates à deux violons, dont les trois premières sont simples, et les trois suivantes mêlées d’accordo [sic] — hints at the didactic nature of the work. The first three sonatas are relatively undemanding technically, while the remainder make ample use of double and multiple stopping, a style of writing influenced by Leclair’s Op. 3 (1730) and already adopted by Boismortier in his VI Sonates pour un flute traversiere, et un violon par accords, Op. 51 (1734). In spite of their debt to Leclair, the Op. 71 sonatas are typically ‘Boismortierian’ in terms of their structure and their melodic and harmonic language. Movements characteristic of the sonata da chiesa (three of which are skilfully written fugues) are integrated with popular dance forms, which must surely have resonated with amateur musicians (and their audiences) of the day.

The reappearance of these sonatas is noteworthy, not only for researchers of Boismortier’s music, but also for those interested in the early eighteenth-century repertory for two solo violins. It raises hopes that further sets of ‘lost’ works by the composer (at least 30 are still unaccounted for) will eventually come to light.

Music example Sonata 1 (pdf)
Music example Sonata 2 (pdf)
Music example Sonata 3 (pdf)
Music example Sonata 4 (pdf)
Music example Sonata 5 (pdf)
Music example Sonata 6 (pdf)

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