Description
The Archive of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna holds a manuscript with six anonymous early 18th-century pasticcio sonatas for chalumeau and basso continuo—the only known works in this genre for early clarinet. Their discovery is a dream come true for lovers of early clarinet instruments and we are very proud to present them as world premiere recording on this CD.
The pieces are part of a collection of 17 sonatas for treble instrument and basso continuo written by six different hands. Little is known about the collection except its provenance from the music archive of Archduke Rudolf of Austria (1788–1831). The volume lacks a title page, but a later yellow paper label on the outer cover reads “Veracini.” Four sonatas in the collection are, indeed, attributed to Francesco Maria Veracini (1690–1768) by their respective scribes. In fact, scholarly literature suggests that one of them may be a Veracini autograph. Further sonatas are pasticcios with movements from printed collections by Lodovico Ferronati, Giuseppe Matteo Alberti, Giovanni Steffano Carbonelli, Prospero Cauciello, Francesco Barsanti, and Giovanni Sammartini.
