Yet more ornaments for Corelli's violin sonatas, op.5

Early Music

Volumn 24, Issue 4, 1996, Pages 623-633

  Johnstone, H Diack ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD   (United Kingdom)

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 63849248535     PISSN: 03061078     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/em/24.4.623     Document Type: Article

References (31)

1. See D. Boyden, 'Corelli's solo violin sonatas "grac'd" by Dubourg', Festskrift Jens Peter Larsen, ed. N. Schiorring and H. Glahn (Copenhagen, 1972), pp.113-25
2. D. Boyden, 'The Corelli "solo" sonatas and their ornamental additions by Corelli, Geminiani, Dubourg, and the "Walsh Anonymous"', Musica antiqua europœ orientalis, iii (Bydgoszcz, 1972), pp.591-607
3. and H. J. Marx, 'Some unknown embellishments of Corelli's violin sonatas', Musical quarterly, lxi (1975), pp.65-76
4. N. Zaslaw, 'Ornaments for Corelli's Violin Sonatas, op.5', Early music, xxiv (1996), pp.95-115
5. Roger North on music, ed. J. Wilson (London, 1959), p.xx
6. The earliest recorded public performance by an English violinist of a Corelli sonata seems to have been that of Thomas Deane Snr at York Buildings on 18 April 1707: see M. Tilmouth, 'A calendar of references to music in newspapers in London and the provinces (1660-1719)', Royal Musical Association research chronicle, i (1961), p.68
7. Roger North on music, pp.160-61
8. quoted by Zaslaw, 'Ornaments ...', p.103
9. Sir John Hawkins, A General History of the Science and Practice of Music, 5 vols. (London, 1776; 1853 edn R/New York, 1963), pp.892-3
10. Charles Burney, A General History of Music, 5 vols. (London, 1776-89; 1935 edn R/New York, 1957), pp.1011-12
11. Burney, A General History, pp.1011-12
12. Public Record Office, P.C.C. Searle 44
13. On the concerts at the Swan, see S. McVeigh, Concert life in London from Mozart to Haydn (Cambridge, 1993). pp.3-4, 32
14. and on Hankey's involvement in them, R. Lonsdale, Dr. Charles Burney: a literary biography (Oxford, 1965), pp.23-4
15. See Early music, xxiii (1995), pp.355-6
16. This manuscript too is now in the British Library (as Ms. Mus. 1); for further details, see C. Price, 'Newly discovered autograph keyboard music of Purcell and Draghi', Journal of the Royal Musical Association, cxx (1995), p.77
17. The signature is identical with that on a signed copy of op.4 in the British Library (press-mark: g. 422 d. (7)). The purpose of the tallies is not clear, but it could be that they record the number of copies sold, either of op.4 or of one of the earlier publications available from the composer at the same address (see n.13 below)
18. Festing's op.1, a set of 12 solos for violin and bass, was issued from his house in Kemp-court, Berwick Street, in May 1730. His next four publications, opp. 2-5 (1731-9). were all advertised as being available from the composer at his house in Angel Court, and his residence at this address is confirmed by the rate books in the Westminster Public Library
19. Modern edns. of nos.2 and 3 by Gwilym Beechey (Oxford University Press, Musica da Camera 24, 1975)
20. The trills on a′ in bars 7 and 16 of the opening Preludio (see ex.1) must almost certainly have been dealt with in the same way, though here (and elsewhere in some of the other embellished movements) the use of the little finger (4) suggests only that the open e″ string was to be avoided at these points. Interestingly, there is a good deal of fingering shown in Festing's op.7 violin sonatas (1747), and also some in the op.8 set, but none at all in opp. 1 and 4 (though two of the op.4 sonatas as given here in Add. Ms. 71,244 do contain just a little)
21. Hawkins, General History, pp.904-7
22. 2 are virtually identical with the first two and a half bars of Geminiani's at the beginning of the movement; also compare bars 43-4 of Festing with bars 45-6 of Geminiani
23. Another '2' over the bmusical flat sign″ just before the final cadence would seem to have the same purpose as that to which attention has already been drawn in connection with the Sarabanda of op.5 no.8
24. See W. C. Smith, A bibliography of the musical works published by John Walsh during the years 1695-1720 (London, 1968), nos.41 and 85
25. also H. J. Marx, Die Überlieferung der Werke Arcangelo Corellis. Catalogue raisonné (Cologne, 1980), p.314 item 1. Lbm (press-mark e. 382) is an apparently unique copy. Here the sonatas appear (transposed) in the following order: op.5 no.9 (in C major), no.10 (in G major), no.7 (in G minor), no.8 (in G minor), no.11 (in G major) and no.12 (in G minor)
26. Smith, A bibliography ..., no.135
27. The manuscript also includes a version of the fourth movement (Vivace) of op.5 no.5 which Zaslaw has evidently overlooked. As it happens, two copyists are involved, one of whom was responsible for the whole of Tenbury Ms. 784, most of Tenbury Mss. 968-70, and had a hand in Tenbury Mss. 971-2 and 1506 as well. One other slip which ought perhaps to be corrected here is Zaslaw's quotation (Ornaments ...', p.113, n.20) of certain remarks which he attributes to the teacher of John Barrett; these come not, as Zaslaw claims, from Add. Ms. 41,205 (which has a dubious connection with Barrett in any case) but from the opening (f.4) of Add. Ms. 17,853, where they were made by Sir William Blakeston in 1694
28. For the context (and a full quotation of the passage concerned), see H. D. Johnstone, 'The English beat', Aspects of keyboard music: essays in honour of Susi Jeans, ed. R. Judd (Oxford, 1992), pp.38, 40
29. I am indebted to Anthony Hicks for drawing the existence of this manuscript to my attention. The date of Add. Ms. 71,209 must be more or less the same as that of the Corelli arrangement in Add. Ms. 17,853 (f.43), where, 12 pages later on (f.49), a piece by William Croft is ascribed to 'Mr.' (rather than 'Dr.') Croft and may thus be assumed to have been written some-time before July 1713 (i.e. somewhat earlier even than Zaslaw suggests). In Add. Ms. 71,209, Pepusch, who also took an Oxford doctorate of music at the same time, is always referred to as either 'Mr.' or 'Sig:'. The fact that the manuscript (Add. Ms. 71,209) also includes keyboard arrangements of a number of items from Handel's Rinaldo (first performed on 24 February 1711) and Teseo (10 January 1713) would seem to narrow quite considerably the margins of the period within which it must have been copied. In an article published in the Autumn 1995 issue of The British Library journal, Graham Pont has shown that the copyist of Add. Ms. 71,209 (ff.21v-73v) was indeed William Babell
30. For full details, see D. Morgan, The Mary Nicholson Manuscript: its copyists, contents and provenance (MusM diss., U. of Manchester, 1994)
31. Coke, Miscellanies Ms. C. 11, formerly at Jenkyn Place, Bentley, Hants., but currently housed at the Hampshire Records Office in Winchester. This bears the signature of 'Mary Grevile' who may (or may not) have been related to Burney's patron, Fulke Greville