Triosonate in b Minor, Op2 #1 (HWV 386b) for Flute, Violin and Basso Continuo by G.F. Handel
Edited by Harry Joelson
Piano score and parts
Andante; Adagio; Allegro ma non troppo; Largo
Handel had composed the first Sonata in c minor, a key uncomfortable for the traverse flute. Walsh simply transposed it to b minor. The parts of this sonata and of the fourth sonata in F major are explicitly for flute and violin, respectively. The part of the other sonatas are labelled Violino Primo or Violino Secondo. The sonatas 1 and 3-5 can be played by various instruments. The original c minor version of the first sonata and the fourth sonata are especially suitable to the treble recorder.
Five editions of the sonatas were printed during Handel’s lifetime. The last one was published in Paris by LeClerc, who also provided a better text with rich ornamentation. Our edition is based upon the Walsh editions, but for dubious passages we have adopted LeClerc’s readings. Walsh left ornamentation mostly to the performer: we have provided the ornaments of the LeClerc edition as an example of contemporary performance practice. We have also consulted numerous contemporary manuscripts, which, however, often were copied from printed editions. No autographs have survived. The figuration of the bass follows the Walsh edition, but the realization takes the more opulent proposals of the LeClerc edition into consideration.
