Babell: Twelve Solos for a Violin or Oboe with  Basso Continuo, Book 1

John Walsh and Joseph Hare published Babell’s first book of twelve solos for violin or oboe posthumously in London around 1725. The sonatas were probably composed for professional performers, and the range and keys suggest that most of them were originally intended for the oboe. Perhaps the most notable aspect of the collection is that it features notated virtuosic embellishments (shown in small noteheads) in many of the slow movements. These embellishments were likely composed for the violin, yet they are suitable for the oboe as well. The clusters of small noteheads are often irrationally notated in the original print, but have been carefully integrated into the metric structure or indicated as cadenzas in the edition. The editor also provides reconstructed simple melodies on a separate staff, giving performers the option to play the simple tunes in first reprises. An appendix reproduces all of the fully graced slow movements in facsimile.