GEMINIANI, Francesco 1687-1762

XII Solo's for a Violin With a Thorough Bass for the Harpsicord or Bass Violin. [Op. 1]. [Violin sonatas]

London: Printed for and Sold by I: Walsh servt. in Ordinary to his Majesty at ye Harp & Hoboy in Catherine Street in ye Strand. & I: Hare at ye Viol & Flute in Cornhill near the Royal Exchange, 1719.

Tall folio. Uncut, as issued. 1f. (recto title, verso blank), 35, [i] (blank) pp.

Disbound. Slightly worn and browned; edges frayed with small tears and minor loss; minor creasing to title.

Third edition. Rare. Careri-Italian p. 247, 1c. Smith 570. BUC p. 367. RISM G1490,

"The Sonatas of 1716, published that year in London, are a collection of twelve sonatas for violin and figured bass, clearly based on the model of the Sonatas Op. 5 by Arcangelo Corelli, published in 1700, but in a more advanced style: greater virtuosity for the violinist, greater variation in the composition and in the way movements are put together to form sonatas. When they were published in London in 1716, they were considered the most difficult music available for the violin at the time. ... Within a few years after their first appearance, Geminiani’s Sonate a violino, violone e cembalo were reprinted twice, by John Walsh in London and by Jeanne Roger in Amsterdam. Both editions appeared in 1719. On first glance, Walsh’s reprint may come as a surprise, since it was issued in the same city in which the original publication had appeared. Book publications were protected more or less by the so-called Statute of Anne, in force since 1709, if the protected works had been entered into the registers of the Stationers’ Company before publication. Until much later in the eighteenth century, however, music, and certainly engraved music, was not considered to belong to the category of books; rather it belonged to the category of prints and maps and it was not considered to be covered by the Statute of Anne. Composers had to obtain special privileges to protect their work. Since Geminiani had published his first opus without a privilege, this gave Walsh a free and safe way for reprinting. Moreover, since the first issue mentions no place of publication and had an Italian title, Walsh could probably maintain as well that it was not a British publication that he was reprinting. ... The reprint must not have pleased Geminiani, to put it mildly. It presented his sonatas in a much more accessible notation than in his own edition and in an absolutely correct reading of the musical text. ... The Walsh Edition is, as we now have seen, much more legible than the Geminiani editions, his musical text is at least as good as the original one, and it had one further, even major advantage: it was cheaper. Geminiani and Meares sold their copies for 8 shillings; the Walsh Edition was available for only 6 shilling, which is 25 % cheaper. In addition, Walsh was a more important and probably also more efficient and effective dealer of music than Richard Meares. Geminiani had every reason to be “not amused” about Walsh’s reprint. But nothing could be done against it. ... Considering the high esteem in which Geminiani’s sonatas would soon be held, plus all the advantages of the Walsh Edition, one would expect a larger sale of this edition than of Geminiani’s own edition. If we take the number of extant copies today as a measure for eighteenth-century dissemination, the Walsh Edition indeed outnumbered Geminiani’s in terms of sales. There are 23 extant copies of the three issues of the Geminiani edition and about 40 of the two issues of the Walsh Edition." Rasch: "Work 1: The Sonatas of 1716" in "The Thirty-One Works of Francesco Geminiani." geminiani.sites.uu.nl

It is quite unusual to find editions of early 18th century music in original, uncut condition.

Item #39994

Price: $1,200.00  other currencies