Handel, GF :: Sonata in F major, op. 1, No. 11

Sonata in F major, op. 1, No. 11

Handel, GF

International Music Company presents Handel's Sonata in F major, op. 1, No. 11 for flute (or violin, or oboe) and guitar, edited by Allen Krantz.

'Continuo realizations of solo and duo sonatas from the Baroque period comprise a substantial source of chamber music for the guitar. Many of the solo sonatas of Handel translate well to the guitar in their original keys, and due to the active and contrapuntal nature of the bass lines, make for fully balanced duets in many of the movements.

The F major sonata was first published in Amsterdam in 1722 as part of a set of twelve entitled 'Sonates pour un(e) traversiere, un violin ou hautbois con basso continuo', and is justifiably one of the most popular of Handel's solo sonatas. In many of these sonatas Handel either quotes or anticipates himself, and so it is no surprise that the music of the F major sonata also served as the basis of an organ concerto in the same key.

The aim of the present realization is to offer a guitar part that is complete and logical in its own right regarding the harmony and voice leading. It is my view that many of the published guitar realizations of this repertoire have suffered from a rigid avoidance of any doubling of the melody line -- especially regarding the third of the harmony, and that this has often made for a disjunct and harmonically incomplete guitar part. My experience looking at written out continuo parts from this period tells me that the contemporaneous practice was more flexible and not hampered by such academic strictures. The part has been done in a straight forward way so as to leave room for ornamentation on the part of the performer.'

- Allen Krantz