Fontana: Sonatas

Series: Baroque Era  Publisher: A-R Editions
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Giovanni Battista Fontana
Sonatas
For One, Two, and Three Parts with Basso continuo

Edited by Thomas D. Dunn

B099 Fontana: Sonatas
978-0-89579-449-9 Full Score (2000) 9x12, x + 140 pp.
$63.00
In stock
SKU
B099

Performance Parts (Available Separately)

B099P
Instrumental Part(s) (2000)
Set of 5 parts (vn. 1; vn. 2; vn. 3; bn.; b.c.)
$44.00
The collection Sonate a 1, 2, 3 per il Violino, o Cornetto, Fagotto, Chiatrone, Violoncino o simile altro Istromento (Venice, 1641) contains eighteen sonatas attributed to the Brescian composer and violinist Giovanni Battista Fontana (d. 1630?) and was apparently intended as a memorial to his career. Comprising six sonatas for solo violin or cornetto with continuo and twelve sonatas variously scored for one to three violins or cornetti, concertante bass, and continuo, the print has long been regarded as a major source in the early history of the Italian solo and ensemble sonata, and the music ranks in importance with the sonatas of Biagio Marini and Dario Castello, the two composers whose work is most comparable to Fontana's. Although it is unlikely that these eighteen pieces constitute his entire output, they may represent a generous sample, with works dating from the turn of the century to around 1630. Moreover, these pieces appear to span a wider stylistic range than do the sonatas in opuses 1 and 8 of Marini and the two books of sonatas by Castello.
For Violin and Basso Continuo: Sonatas 1–6
For Two Violins and Basso Continuo: Sonatas 7–8; Sonata 11
For Violin, Bassoon, and Basso Continuo: Sonatas 9–10; Sonata 12
For Two Violins, Bassoon, and Basso Continuo: Sonatas 13–15; Sonatas 17–18
For Three Violins and Basso Continuo: Sonata 16