The ''Flute sonata in E minor'' (
HWV 379) was composed (circa 1727-28) by
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...
for flute and
basso continuo
Basso continuo parts, almost universal in the Baroque era (1600–1750), provided the harmonic structure of the music by supplying a bassline and a chord progression. The phrase is often shortened to continuo, and the instrumentalists playing th ...
. The work is also referred to as ''Opus 1 No. 1a'', and was first published in 1879 by
Chrysander. Other catalogues of Handel's music have referred to the work as
HG xxvii,2; and
HHA iv/3,2.
The work is the only sonata that survives as a flute sonata in Handel's own manuscript.
Of the two sonatas published in the
Chrysander edition as ''Opus 1 Sonata I'', this one (''Sonata I
a'') is not in the
Walsh edition. Therefore, (although the work's authenticity remains unquestioned), this sonata is not strictly part of Handel's "Opus 1". Chrysander's ''Sonata I
a'' and ''Sonata I
b'' have their first and fourth movements in common.
A typical performance of the work takes about 13 minutes.
Movements
The work consists of five
movements:
(Movements do not contain repeat markings unless indicated. The number of bars is taken from the Chrysander edition, and is the raw number in the manuscript—not including repeat markings.)
See also
*
Handel flute sonatas
It is impossible to say how many flute sonatas were composed by George Frideric Handel, but the correct number is somewhere between none and eight. There are many reasons for the confusion: some of the sonatas were originally written for other ins ...
*
List of solo sonatas by George Frideric Handel
*
XV Handel solo sonatas (publication by Chrysander)
*
Handel solo sonatas (publication by Walsh)
References
Flute sonatas by George Frideric Handel
{{sonata-stub