The Solo Violin Sonata of the Bologna School

Author(s): Henry G. Mishkin

Source: The Musical Quarterly , Jan., 1943, Vol. 29, No. 1 (Jan., 1943), pp. 92-112
Published by: Oxford University Press

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/739354

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
https://about.jstor.org/terms

Oxford University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to
The Musical Quarterly

This content downloaded from

219.244.167.100 on Wed, 25 Jan 2023 07:36:33 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 THE SOLO VIOLIN SONATA OF THE
BOLOGNA SCHOOL1

By HENRY G. MISHKIN
T HE sonata da chiesa for solo violin and basso continuo was
relatively infrequent in I7th-century Italy, where the more
typical chamber music consisted of three or more written parts.
However, the violin sonata did originate in Italy during the first
decades of the I7th century, and its history to 1700 (the date of
Corelli's solo violin sonatas, Opus V, Sonate a Violino e Violone o
Cimbalo), though modest in extent, reflects a steady develop-
ment, which profited from the great strides in technique learned
in the more richly cultivated field of the trio sonata.
Before proceeding to a discussion of this solo literature, it is
necessary to clarify certain ambiguities in a nomenclature which,
during the I7th century, is never scrupulously consistent. Just as
no invariable distinction between the sonata, sinfonia, canzona,
concerto, capriccio, and ricercata of the early I7th century can be
maintained2, so are the very terms sonata a uno or sonata a tre
often misleading. The distinctive designation, solo or trio sonata,
must not be considered as applying to the number of instruments
participating. A trio sonata may be intended for two instruments,
as is Biagio Marini's Sonata for violin and organ, Opus VIII, 1626,
in which the organ has two written parts; for four instruments,
as the usual I 7th-century title specifies, Sonata a tre, due violini e
violoncello (o violone) col basso continuo per l'organo (o cem-
balo); or even for five instruments, as in G. B. Bononcini's Sin-
fonie a tre ... Opus IV, i686, for which there are five part-books
-first and second violin, 'cello, theorbo, and organ. It is rarely
intended for three instruments alone.
Similarly, the sonata a uno stromento may be meant for two
instruments-violin and keyboard-, or, as more often happens,
for three, in which case, a 'cello or violone doubles the bass line.
Even a consistent identification of the trio sonata with three
1 This paper was read before the New England Chapter of the American Musico-
logical Society at a meeting held in Cambridge on December 15, 1939.
2 For a discussion of nomenclature cf. Wasielewski's Die Violine im XVII. Jahr-
hundert, p. 16; A. Moser, Geschichte des Violinspiels, p. 51.
92

This content downloaded from

219.244.167.100 on Wed, 25 Jan 2023 07:36:33 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 The Solo Violin Sonata of the Bologna School 93

and the solo sonata with two written parts, regardless of the size
of the ensemble, is not always possible. Often the 'cello and basso
continuo parts are not the same. For example, in T. A. Vitali's
Sonata a tre ... Opus 1, 1693, for which there are four part-books,
the 'cello often has imitative entries and extended florid passages
distinct from the bass.3 Similarly, in solo violin sonatas the violone
may have occasional imitative entries which temporarily give the
sonata three independent parts. Such examples may be found in
Maurizio Cazzati's Sonate a due istromenti ... Opus LV, I670,
to be discussed below, for which there are three part-books-
violino, violone, and basso continuo.
As a result the 17th-century solo violin sonata may be regarded
as consisting of two written parts, of which the treble is intended
for a solo violin and the bass for a harmonic instrument (usually
keyboard, occasionally a theorbo) with a quasi-independent or
doubling string-bass instrument (violone or violoncello).
The history of the solo violin sonata before the first publica-
tion of the Bologna School-Cazzati's Opus LV, in I67o-has
been presented by Riemann, Die Instrumental Monodie (Hand-
buch der Musikgeschichte, II2, p. 86), by Schering, Zur Geschichte
der Solo Sonata in der ersten Halfte des 17. Jahrhunderts (Rie-
mann Festschrift, I909) and, in essentials, by Gustav Beckmann
in the introduction to his Das Violinspiel in Deutschland vor
1700. It may prove helpful to provide a very brief account of the
body of music they discuss, considering it in relation to the sub-
sequent Bologna style, in order to provide a background for the
ensuing analysis.
Interspersed passages for solo violin and basso continuo are
not rare in the first decade of the I7th century. Instrumental
monodies occur in operas4 and in isolated passages of polyphonic
instrumental works,5 but the first complete compositions for solo
violin and basso continuo are found in Gio. P. Cima's Partitura
delle concerti ecclesiastici . . . con sei sonate per stromenti . ..
Milan, I6o0, and in Biagio Marini's Affetti Musicali ... Opus I,
Venice, I617. In the middle of the century, 1649, the first col-
3 For numerous similar examples see Vatielli's Primordi dell' arte del Violoncello,
Arte e Vita Musicale a Bologna, p. 125 ff. (N. Zanichelli, Bologna, I927.)
4 Cf. Monteverdi's Orfeo (Act III, Possente spirito), Gagliano's Dafne.
5 Cf. Viadana's Concerti Ecclesiastici, I602, Risposta a quattro; Salomone Rossi's II
Terzo libro de Varie Sonate, 1613.

This content downloaded from

219.244.167.100 on Wed, 25 Jan 2023 07:36:33 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
94 The Musical Quarterly
lection of solo sonatas appears, Uccellini's Opus V, Delle sonate
overo canzoni da farsi a violino solo, which contains thirteen
solo sonatas.
As is shown in the following chronologically arranged list of
the relatively few solo sonatas published in Italy before I670, a
fairly representative number are now available in modern reprints:
6Io G. P. Cima Partitura delle concerti ecclesiastici . . . con
sei sonate per stromenti... M. ilano.
REPRINTS: Beckmann (i sonata).
I617 Biagio Marini Affetti Musicali ... Op. I, Venetia, B. Magni.
(3 solo violin sonatas)
REPRINTS: D. Iselin, Biagio Marini;
Schering, Musikgeschichte in
Beispielen, No. 182;
Riemann, Handbuch, II, p. 96.
I62o Innocento Vivarino II primo libro de motetti ... con otto sonate
per il violino o altro simile stromento . . .
Venetia... B. Magni.
REPRINTS: Riemann, Handbuch, II2, p. I 5;
Schering, in Riemann Fest-
schrift, p. 319 (Sonata 7).
I62o B. Marini Arie Madrigali et Corenti a i, 2, 3... Op. I11.
(Romanesca and Gagliarde for violin solo)
REPRINTS: Wasielewski, No. io (Roma-
nesca);
Torchi, L'Arte Musicale in
Italia, VII (Romanesca and
Gagliarde);
Iselin (reconstruction of third
part of Romanesca).
1623 Paolo Quagliati La sfera ar-moniosa . . . Roma . . . Robletti.
(i violin solo "Toccata")
1623 G. Frescobaldi Canzoni a 1-4 voci ... (5 canzoni for canto
solo and basso continuo)
I626 B. Marini Sonate, Symphonie, Canzoni . . . a 1, 2, 3, 4,
5, et 6 voci per ogni sorte di stromenti . ..
Op. VIII, Ven . . Magni. (4 solo violin
sonatas)
REPRINTS: Schering, Musikgeschichte in
B., No. 183;
Beckmann, No. 5;
Schering, in Riemann Fest-
schrift, p. 320;
Riemann, Handbuch, II2, p. 102.

This content downloaded from

219.244.167.100 on Wed, 25 Jan 2023 07:36:33 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 The Solo Violin Sonata of the Bologna School 95
i6z8 Ottavio Grandi Sonate per ogni sorte di stromenti a I, 2, 3, 4
6 ... Op. II ... Venetia .. B. Magni. (2
sonatas a I violino, 4 sonatas a 2, canto e basso)
REPRINTS: First Sonata, Beckmann, No. 4.
1629 B. Montalbano Sinfonie ad uno e doi Violini.. . Palermo. (4
sinf. for violin solo)
x629 D. Castello Sonate Concertate per sonar nel organo overo
clavicembalo con diversi instrumenti. .
Venetia (2 solo violin sonatas)
1636 G. B. Buonamente Sonate et Canzoni . . . libro sesto (2 solo
violin canzoni)
I639 D. Marco Uccellini Delle sonate sinfonie . . . a 2, 3 4... lib. 2,
Ven. A. Vincenti. (i sonata for violin and
theorbo, 6 corrente for violin solo)
I641 G. B. Fontana Sonate a , 2, 3 per violino o cornetto . .
Venetia, B. Magni. (6 violin solos)
REPRINTS: Torchi, VII, p. 92;
Wasielewski, Nos. I2, I3;
Iselin, Sonata Prima;
Riemann, Handbuch, II2, p. I I,
I 112, I 113.
1642 M. Uccellini Delle sonate . . a 2 e 3 ... Venetia, Vincenti.
1645 M. Uccellini Sonate . . . a uno, due e a tre . . . Venetia,
Vincenti. (6 for violin solo)
1648 M. Cazzati8 II secondo libro delle senate a 1, 2, 3, 4 ...
Op. VIII, Venetia, Vincenti. (Contains 2 solo
sonatas)
1649 D. M. Uccellini Delle sonate overo canzoni da farsi a violino
solo & basso continuo, Op. V, Ven. A.
Vincenti. (13 solo sonatas)
REPRINTS: Riemann, Old Chamber Music,
IV, Sonata II, p. 135.
i65o A. Falconieri 11 primo libro di canzone Sinfonie . .. a 1, 2
e 3. Napoli, Pacini e Ricci.
I652 Gio. Ant. Leoni Sonate di violino a voce sola ... libro primo,
Op. III, Roma, Vitale Mascardi.
1655 B. Marini Musicale diversi generi di Sonate da chiesa e
da camera a due, tre & quattro ... Op. XXII.
Venetia, F. Magni.
REPRINTS: Wasielewski, No. 22;
Torchi, VII, p. 49;
Iselin (Sonata II).
i655 G.Legrenzi Sonate a 2 e 3 ... Op. II, Venetia, F. Magni.
(3 solo sonatas)

6Cazzati published instrumental music (in I642 and 1648) prior to his appoint-
ment to San Petronio Cathedral in I657.

This content downloaded from

219.244.167.100 on Wed, 25 Jan 2023 07:36:33 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
96 The Musical Quarterly
These early solo compositions do not follow the constructive
principles of the old canzona da sonare as closely as did the con-
temporary trio sonata, but seem to grow out of the desire to find
a form which will better exploit the newly found violin virtuosity.
The movements of the solo sonatas are short, of a virtuoso type,
extremely varied, and make use of sharp contrasts in tempo and
style. Unity and the logical working out of the distinctive char-
acter of each movement are neglected in the instrumental monody
for the exploitation of inherent violin qualities, brilliance, and
agility.
The principal Italian composers of this period seem to have
exerted a far greater influence on the subsequent German violinists
than upon the Bologna School. At least two of the important
figures had direct contact with Germany. Biagio Marini was
Kapellmeister in Diisseldorf for over twenty years-from 1623
to I645-, and Carlo Farina, regarded by Moser as the founder
of the German School, was violinist in Dresden for seven years-
from 1625 to 1632-, during which time all his known instru-
mental music was published. Their advanced violin technique7-
which included the use of double and triple stops, higher positions
(fifth and sixth), scordatura, sul ponticello and col legno effects,
tremolo, and pizzicato-, Marini's penchant for the variation form,
and Farina's for naive program music, become not uncommon
features of the violin music of the German masters, Rosenmiiller,
Biber, and Walther, but are entirely absent from the music of
the Bolognesi.
While the earlier masters, in the first glow of discovering new
virtuoso possibilities, exploited mannerisms of external effect to
an extreme and established frontiers of violin technique that en-
dured for some two centuries, it was the role of the Bolognesi to
tame this exuberance, to exclude the more extreme features, such
as the col legno, scordatura, and contrapuntal texture, and to make
the remainder subservient to an expressive style. Bologna's con-
tribution was in the direction of a formalism, a restraint, an
elegance of expression and, above all, a pervasive lyricism which
is the direct inheritance of Corelli and which, with the brilliant
virtuosity adopted by the German masters, finds its inevitable
equilibrium in J. S. Bach.
7 Cf. Beckmann, op. ct., p. 17.

This content downloaded from

219.244.167.100 on Wed, 25 Jan 2023 07:36:33 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 The Solo Violin Sonata of the Bologna School 97
The work of the Bologna School constitutes a lyrical interrup-
tion between the exuberance and experimentation of the early
Baroque style and the robust bravura style developed by the later
Baroque period, by Vivaldi, Tartini, Locatelli, etc., an interlude
that reached its highest expression in the figure of Corelli.
The flowering of instrumental art, as well as the general state
of musical culture in Bologna during the last half of the i7th
century has been amply described by Gaspari8 and Vatielli.9 It
will suffice here merely to indicate briefly the circumstances con-
tributing to Bologna's dominant position in one special phase of
the history of chamber music.
* *

The musical history

century is in no way
pays fit tant de musiq
moins que Bologne." In
first decades of the
tion as a center for
Gaibara,l and Camill
with the San Petron
tinctive title, "detto i
Even some of the Ve
their art in Bologna,
sonata of his Opus II,
dal Violino mio maes
see, studied there und
were, in turn, pupils o
During the last half
place in Bologna tha
I666, Count Vincenz
Filarmonica, destine
entire musical life of
Some seven printing e
8 Ricerche, documenti e m
Bologna, in Atti e mernori
Romagna, Vol. VIII (1869), p
9 Arte e Vita Musicale in Bo
10 Hfistoire de l'opera en Eu
11". .. Gaibara, le veritable
M. Pincherle, Corelli, Paris,

This content downloaded from

219.244.167.100 on Wed, 25 Jan 2023 07:36:33 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
98 The Musical Quarterly
period of change, and it is due to the activity of three of the prin-
cipal houses-Giacomo Monti, Marino Silvani, and Giuseppe
Micheletti-that an overwhelming proportion of the Bologna
instrumental music is available today in printed editions.
Perhaps the most important single event occurred in 1657,
when the Chapel broke a tradition of long standing and appointed
Maurizio Cazzati, a Venetian and not a native of Bologna, as the
director of San Petronio Chapel. From that date the San Petronio
Cathedral Chapel began to assume the musical importance suitable
to one of the largest cathedrals in Italy. Cazzati had had a varied
career as maestro di cappella and director of chamber music, and
he had already published two volumes of sonatas12 in 1642 and
1648. Under him a chapel orchestra was organized at San Petronio.
Previously, in I636, one violin, and on occasion two, had been
used with the singers. By 1670, three violins, one alto viola, two
tenor violas, one violone, two theorbos, and four trombones com-
posed the chapel orchestra. There is evidence that even more
instrumentalists were used on special occasions, for there appears
in the cathedral accounts for 1661 the following item of expense,
"22 lire and 10 soldi to be paid to musicians, namely, violinists and
chapel singers selected from the Chapels of the Nativity, Circum-
cision, and Epiphany, there not being enough in the Cappella."
The introduction of instrumental music by Cazzati strongly
influenced the Bolognesi, especially his most talented pupil, G. B.
Vitali ( 644[? ] -692), who became viola player at San Petronio
in 1667.
Cazzati remained in Bologna for fourteen years-until 1671,
when he left to become a member of the San Carlo Chapel in
Modena. He was anxious that Legrenzi should take his place in
Bologna, but against his advice Giovanni Colonna, a native of
Bologna, was appointed.
Colonna instituted a second phase in the Bologna style. He
added to the Venetian influence that of Rome, where he had been
educated under Benevoli and Abbatini. Colonna guided the
destinies of San Petronio Chapel for over twenty years, until his
death in I696, and in his Masses and psalms for orchestra and
chorus (he wrote no purely instrumental music) combined the
12 Canzoni a 3, doi violini e violone col suo basso contimo . . . Op. II, Venice,
x642. 11 Seczndo libro delle Sonate a 1, 2, 3 e 4. Op. VIII, Venice, i648.

This content downloaded from

219.244.167.100 on Wed, 25 Jan 2023 07:36:33 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 The Solo Violin Sonata of the Bologna School 99
learned polyphony of the Romans with the coloristic instru-
mental style already developed at Bologna.
Outstanding among the musicians influenced by this second
phase of the School is Giuseppe Torelli, violetta player in the
chapel from 1685 to I695. Torelli's printed works, in contrast to
the solo and trio sonatas of Cazzati and Vitali, include such titles
as Concerti Grossi, Concerti Musicali, and Concerti da Camera.
In 1696, upon the death of Colonna, Jacobo Antonio Perti,
also a native of Bologna, succeeded as maestro di cappella. He too
had studied in Rome and was likewise a specialist in combined
vocal and instrumental forms; although he wrote twenty-four
operas and nineteen oratorios, only a single string sonata of his
survives.
Very soon after he assumed his position, the chapel found
itself in a period of acute financial crisis, and towards the end of
the century the musical organization was dissolved. Many of its
members found places at the Ducal Court of Este in Modena,
where Francesco IV received and protected them, while others
sought employment outside Italy. This forced migration, although
it deprived Bologna of its best musicians, helped to make the
Bologna style known and to spread its fame throughout Europe.
In I701, with the number of musicians greatly reduced and
the salaries halved, the chapel was restored, and, again under
Perti, the musical activities were resumed. But the changed per-
sonnel and the growing dominance of operatic music, particularly
that of the Neapolitan School, completely disrupted the natural
growth of the Bologna style; the re-assembled orchestra in no way
continued the traditions of its predecessor.
The School, therefore, existed from the advent of Cazzati in
1657 to the re-organization of the chapel in 170I; and, on the
basis of style, this period may be divided into two sub-periods-
that of smaller forms, under the Cazzati influence, and that of the
concerto, under the influence of Colonna and Perti.
The most illustrious proponent of the Bologna style, although
not usually associated with it, is Arcangelo Corelli. Contrary to
the prevalent myth that Corelli studied with Bassani, who was
thirteen years his junior, we have the testimony of Crescembini,
his colleague at the Accademia dei Arcadi,13 and of Padre Martini's
13 Pincherle, op. cit., p. 5.

This content downloaded from

219.244.167.100 on Wed, 25 Jan 2023 07:36:33 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
I 00
The Musical Quarterly
researches of 1750 on the members of the Bologna Accademia
Filarmonica, that Corelli came to Bologna in i666 at the age of
thirteen, studied the violin with Benvenuti and Brugnoli, both
violinists at San Petronio, became a member of the Accademia in
I670, and left the following year for Rome. This identification
of Corelli with the Bologna School is further supported by the
fact that his name in his earlier editions bears the title "detto il
bolognese".
Corelli cannot, of course, be considered a participant in the
Bologna School, but the very qualities that distinguish him from
most of his contemporaries are qualities which, as we shall see
below, it was possible for him to have acquired in Bologna.
In regarding only a cross section of the Bologna music, the
solo violin sonata, we unfortunately omit from discussion such
important members of the School as Domenico Gabrielli, G. B.
Laurenti, G. B. Borri, and T. A. Vitali, but even a limited in-
vestigation will bring to light many of the important elements of
the Bologna style, besides uncovering a somewhat obscure period
in the history of the solo violin sonata.
Following is a chronologically arranged list of the Bologna
solo sonatas of which, unfortunately, few reprints exist:
A. PRINTED EDITIONS

1670 M. Cazzati Sonate a due . .. v.iolino e violone . .

Op. LV. Bologna. (12 solo sonatas)
1676 P. degl' Antonii14 Sonate a violino solo con il basso con-
tinuo per l'organo. Op. IV... in Bologna
. . . 1676 per Giacomo Monti. (12 solo
sonatas)
1686 P. degl' Antonii Suonate a violino solo col basso continuo
... Op. V, in Bologna, 1686 per Giacomo
Monti. (8 solo sonatas)
1687 G. Torelli Sinfonie a 2, 3 & 4 Istromenti ... Op. I11,
Bologna. G. Michelleti. (2 solo sonatas)
1689 G. B. Vitali Artifici Musicali . . . Op. XIII, Modena
per gli Eredi Cassiani
REPRINTS: Torchi, VII, p. 179. (2 solo
violin sonatas)
(1700?) B. Bernardi Sonate a violino solo col basso continuo
Op. III, Amsterdam.
14 Vatielli publishes a sonata of degl'Antonii in his Antichi Maestri Bolognes
Venturi, 1914, which is a composite of four movements taken from four different
sonatas of Op. IV.

This content downloaded from

219.244.167.100 on Wed, 25 Jan 2023 07:36:33 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 The Solo Violin Sonata of the Bologna School IOI

1703 G. Aldrovandini Concerti a due, violino e violoncello o

teorba, Op. IV, in Bologna per M. Sil-
vani.
B. COLLECTIONS

(ca. I700) Sonate (7) a violino e violoncello di varn

autorii. (Contains one sonata each of the
Bolognesi, Mazzolini and Jachini)
C. MANUSCRIPTS
G. B. Vitali One solo sonata, Estense Music Collec-
tion, Vienna. (Cf. Haas15 Catalogue, p.
115)
G. Torelli Two solo sonatas, Estense Music Collec-
tion, Vienna. (Cf. Haas Catalogue, p.
112)

Maurizio Cazzati, although wielding significant influence at a

critical phase in the history of chamber music, has not fared well
at the hands of historians. Fetis6l remarks, "C'etait, en realite, une
harmoniste mediocre et un compositeur sans genie", and Torchi 7,
treating of the sonatas published in 1669, says, "the style is weak,
common, and baroque, evincing absolutely no talent." Vatielli,18
in support of Cazzati, states: "I cannot agree with Torchi in deny-
ing musical talent to this master ... I do not say that he is a true
innovator . . . as Marini or Legrenzi were, but as far as Bologna
is concerned he is significant as the importer and transmitter of
this very style. . . . Cazzati is, in my opinion, the direct agent
through whom was transmitted to Bologna the kind of art which
had its cradle and first development in Northern Italy."
Since Cazzati's style typifies the inheritance as well as the point
of departure of the Bologna masters, it may be well to examine in
some detail the publication, Sonate a due istromenti cioe violino e
violone, Op. LV, 1670.
Although the four-movement form is fairly constant19, the
order of their tempi varies. In three sonatas (6, 9, i ), all the
movements are in fast tempo; in others, two or three slow move-
ments often occur in succession. Approximately half the opening
15 Die Estensischen Musikalien, Thematisches Verzeichnis, R. Haas, G. Bosse Ver-
lag, Regensburg, I927.
16 Biographie Universelle des Musiciens, Paris, i86I, Vol. II, p. 231.
17 La Musica Instrumentale in Italia nei Secoli XVI, XVII e XVIII, in Rivista
Musicale Italiana, V (1898), p. 74.
18 Op. cit., p. 155.
19 Three sonatas have 3 movements, and two have 5.

This content downloaded from

219.244.167.100 on Wed, 25 Jan 2023 07:36:33 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
I02 The Musical Quarterly
movements are Adagios (or Largos) and the other half All
Nor are there consistent principles of tonal contrast am
the movements. All the movements of four sonatas (3, 6
begin and end in the tonic key, while one or two of the m
movements of the others either begin in the tonic and end
dominant, or vice versa. No movement in any of the son
completely in a related key.
Obviously, it is impossible to formulate fixed and invi
rules in relation to the form of the instrumental music of th
century, whose very essence is experimentation and tria
error development. Yet, although the imitative fast movem
Cazzati's sonatas reveal a great variety of treatment, it is st
sible to distinguish two general schemes, one monothematic
other polythematic.
A representative monothematic movement shows a fairly
knit unity, based upon a single theme with short deriv
motives serving as bridge material between restatements of
theme. The treatment is concise, economical, and free fro
customary virtuoso padding of the string sonatas of the firs
of the century. This monothematic movement becomes i
hands of the subsequent Bolognesi even more rigorous in its
and eventually evolves as the typical solo-sonata-fugal move
The polythematic movements are divided into two sec
(the second beginning in the dominant). The style is still
tive, but the movement, in making use of the opposition of
contrasting themes, becomes, as a result, sectional. This
which is perhaps more a tendency than a realization in C
likewise persists throughout the School, becoming the chara
istic two-part, non-imitative, fast movement of Aldrova
Cazzati's Grave' movements, in which two or more mo
are announced successively, usually in dialogue, are characte
by a declamatory arioso style, completely lacking in the lyr
inherent in the violin itself. They are inconclusive as indepe
movements, having apparently grown out of the transitional
sections of the earlier composers, the open character of
they still retain. These recitative-like slow movements li
persist as a School characteristic, but become highly expr
for example, in the sonatas of Pietro degl' Antonii.
Cazzati's string style is severe. It exploits none of the colo
potentialities of the violin; there are no double stops, no br

This content downloaded from

219.244.167.100 on Wed, 25 Jan 2023 07:36:33 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 The Solo Violin Sonata of the Bologna School 103

chord figuration, no extended running passages, no bowing legatos,

and the range is habitually limited to two octaves, c' to c"'. It ex-
hibits neither the technical exuberance of the earlier men, nor the
lyricism subsequently developed by the Bolognesi. Cazzati wrote
in the rare solo violin medium, but was apparently unable to accept
the rigorous limitations of the small ensemble itself without re-
course to a third element, the violone, for additional imitative
interpolations.
Cazzati is, in almost all respects, an ideal transitional figure.
He served to introduce the little cultivated solo violin sonata into
Bologna in a form that was not composed of the multiple loosely
joined movements characteristic of Fontana and Marini, but of a
distinct and "workable" four. His style is neutral and restrained,
but capable of infinite extension in the direction towards which
the talent of the Bolognese composers led, a lyrical, expressive style
guided by a coherent sense of form.
Pietro degl' Antonii is of particular interest in this study for
several reasons. Besides the fact that his solo sonatas are by far the
most distinguished of the lot and serve as typical examples of the
charm and lyricism of the School, they appear to be the only ones
entitled Sonate a violino solo and the only sonatas printed in score
rather than in part-books. Furthermore, Pietro degl' Antonii is the
only member of the group to make the solo sonata the principal
field of his activity rather than a subsidiary one; of his four col-
lections of chamber music,20 three are for solo violin and basso
continuo, and the fourth is for solo violin con il secondo violino
a beneplacito. Only three trio sonatas are preserved.21
The number of movements in Antonii's sonatas is equally
divided between four and five. Again, as in Cazzati, no movement
derives its distinctive character because of its position in the
sonata, although a tendency towards the arrangement finally
adopted by Aldrovandini, and subsequently by Bach, may be
20 a) Arie, Gighe, Ballette . . . a violino e violone o spinetta con il secondo violino
a beneplacito .. Op. I... in Bologna per G. Monti, I670.
b) Balletti, Correnti .. . a violino e violone per camera . . Op. ill, in Bologna
per Giacomo Monti, 1671.
c) Sonate a violino solo con il basso continuo per rorgano . .. Op. IV, Bologna,
G. Monti, 1676.
d) Sonate a violino solo con il basso continuo per l'organo, Op. V, Bologna,
G. Monti, i686.
21 Br. Mus. Add. 31436ff.; Ms. Modena Mus. DII; Scelta delle Sonate a due violone
con il basso ... Rac. da diversi Eccel. Autori, Bologna, Monti, i680.

This content downloaded from

219.244.167.100 on Wed, 25 Jan 2023 07:36:33 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
104 The Musical Quarterly
discerned in the fact that Antonii's most frequently used sequence
of movements contains an opening slow movement and a closing
fast one. Although there is only one sonata actually in the form
slow-fast-slow-fast, there are three each with the sequence slow-
slow-slow-fast and slow-fast-slow-slow-fast. Antonii's predilection
for slow movements is conspicuous. In Opus IV and Opus V
there are almost twice as many slow as fast movements (48 to
26), while the church sonatas of Corelli (Op. I, III, and the
first 6 sonatas of V), in contrast, contain fewer slow than fast
movements (59 to 72). Thus Antonii does not seem to be as
interested in a sharp contrast between slow and fast tempi as he
is between slight variations in the character of slow movements.
To this end he employs many more than the usual descriptive
tempo indications: Adagio affettuoso, Posato, Con affetto, Aria
grave, Lento, and Aria posata.
As in Cazzati, there are many sonatas (7 in Op. IV and V) in
which all movements are in the tonic key, but, in contrast to
Cazzati, there are some in which complete movements are in
related keys. The usual key of contrast (also characteristic of the
Corelli Sonatas) is not the dominant, but the relative minor (4
examples) or the relative major (also 4 examples).22
In general, Pietro degl' Antonii's sonatas have a melodic grace
uncommon in Baroque music. The conception is delicate, expres-
sive and, above all, lyrical.
A detailed examination of his solo sonatas reveals certain out-
standing characteristics. For one thing, Antonii has solved the
problem of making the lower voice both the bass and a melodic
part, without falling back upon the use of an interpolated third
voice. Furthermore, the imitative fast movements, rigorously
formalized and monothematic, show the definite establishment of
the principle of episodic structure on subject fragments. In addi-
tion, and unlike Cazzati, Antonii writes non-imitative fast move-
ments, in which the theme never appears in the bass. Some, appro-
priately called arie vivace, are in ABA form, or in extensions of it.
Others are virtuoso movements over a chordal bass (e.g., Op. IV,
Nos. 5, 7, I I). In these, only a limited virtuoso technique is utilized
-called for by conjunct "stencil" figures contrasting with angular
disjunct figures that require rapid changes of register. Antonii's
22 In one case (Op. IV, No. 5) the parallel minor occurs, and in one the sub-
dominant (Op. IV, No. io).

This content downloaded from

219.244.167.100 on Wed, 25 Jan 2023 07:36:33 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 The Solo Violin Sonata of the Bologna School IOS

material, as the following example shows, is concise and thoroughly

organized.

) IN
I
Ex.1
-1
%s r J -r -

eItl-4l_..~~~~t t ^ 1

II -. r' I -r
'\ ;y\F D rJ I J I

The slow movements show a

from simple ABA instrumen
pourings, somewhat related
hanced by particularly beaut
excerpts are quoted from a m
manner of connecting a suc
ments with eloquent recitativ
sive figuration.

Affettuoao
d, , t. _ a L a a * L
1. , -

In10

Ext.

Xe j. 6b
r "-
6
r I

This content downloaded from

219.244.167.100 on Wed, 25 Jan 2023 07:36:33 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
io6 The Musical Quarterly
_ _ -L'. _-l I

i r I r f r - r Ir p M., r -

6' b

( r: r r J rr_ r ~ r J
t 6 7 6 t y

?/ 7

5bJ r LJ- I r 7 t .

i t~~~etc.
v
I _ er 0 j r I-El
6b ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 6ms

Antonii's melodic style is affected by a

practices that lend it an expressive quasi-r
frequent melodic use of the lowered sup
brings with it the Neapolitan-sixth harmo
less common dominant triad with diminis

n ^e. -. ^ i -

i rML I-
Ex3 1
t 61' 4 (6) _
rrrrrrr I r r r

This content downloaded from

219.244.167.100 on Wed, 25 Jan 2023 07:36:33 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 The Solo Violin Sonata of the Bologna School 107

,IL f" I .. riL_t^ -

*

Ex.

(e

* Written thus i tihe 1676

g both,tintee.

Unprepared sevenths, chan

versa over the same root, the
particularly the diminished
deceptive cadence in which th
resolved, are a few elements t
for example, or from the solo
of the century.

n , ... . -.
iML ^ - - - - ^ r . - - r - I f I r1 ^^LE
'i a- 1

Ex.5 eJ

I t- '' r 'D-b

( , 1,!r 'r . V-
Ex.64j

34 ^\ Wt -r I
5 - '
506

Distinctive also is the logic and freshness of his harmony in a

period generally characterized by harmonic awkwardness. Al-
though Cazzati's progressions are still permeated with modal in-
fluences, Antonii's harmonic scheme is well within the major and
minor system. His vocabulary is not unusual, except for the
diminished dominants, but the progressions are always fluid and
interesting, even to modern ears. The first movement from Sonata
3 in Opus V, quoted below, is typical of Antonii's expressive
melodic and harmonic style.

This content downloaded from

219.244.167.100 on Wed, 25 Jan 2023 07:36:33 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 IO 8 The Musical Quarterly
Adasgto affettuoso
h ? . ~ ~~~~~ & *b-r ^ -^

( p-- XA- WS
Ec.7
**r6 _ b

1:

rB. 7p7r

', r ' :[ 6 4

a t

9 r (b) r r - i c^5

-W (

This content downloaded from

219.244.167.100 on Wed, 25 Jan 2023 07:36:33 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 The Solo Violin Sonata of the Bologna School IO9

I \ FI, 6 rr-ft * ..I '. ,

iI

I 9:. j_ ''-r". ,_ .... - r

be b, 4s b

lISf l U1 ,r _
-- - ?IC (Xo) (o# -' , 0 ' t
Only four solo violin sonatas of Giusep
work is in the field of the solo violin con
Two are included among his published
4 . . . Op. III, I687, and two are preser
Estense Music Collection at Vienna.24
general stylistic patterns as Antonii. The
expressive. To secure this expressiven
devices not found in Antonii, such as
chord and a profusion of appoggiature
more concise and the themes perha
Antonii's, but still quite definitely allied
Before we consider the solo sonatas of
a few words should be devoted to the
Bernardi (preserved in Paris, Biblioth
Bernardi was born at Bologna, where he
after 1696, since his Opus I, Sonate da
in Bologna in 1692 and his Opus II,
subsequently became "Compositore e S
23 Cf. A. Schering, Geschichte des Instrumental Kon
24 Cf. R. Haas, op. cit., p. I 2.

This content downloaded from

219.244.167.100 on Wed, 25 Jan 2023 07:36:33 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
II0 The Musical Quarterly
il Re di Danimarcha & Norvegia" and died at Copenha
1730. His Opus III, Sonate a violino solo col basso continuo, w
was published in Amsterdam and bears no date, is obvi
product of his work in Copenhagen.
There is no trace in Opus III of the Bologna style, whi
much in evidence in his first two publications. The violin te
is considerably advanced; the sonatas abound in arpeggio
ments, double and triple stops, and brilliant figuration, and
also employ polyphonic texture, a development in string te
that seems to have been not uncommon when the Italian vi
came in contact with German-made violins. Singular deman
made upon the executant, as is illustrated by such instructi
the following: "Tztte queste ultime note si toccano in Ar
e poi si tocca nel medesimo tempo con il ditto piccolo." ("Al
last notes are played in arpeggio and, moreover, one is to pla
the little finger at the same time.")
In addition, the great number of variation and dance
ments and the extended character of the sonatas themselve
posed of seven to nine movements, constitute so many el
foreign to the Bologna style that, in spite of the fact that B
was trained in Bologna, these solo sonatas do not come with
scope of the present discussion.
In the Opus IV of Giuseppe Aldrovandini, which appea
1703, seventeen years after the Opus V of Antonii and s
years after the Opus III of Torelli, we have the last express
the Bologna School in the solo sonata medium. The Aldro
sonatas are the logical outcome of the style as determin
Antonii and Torelli. On the one hand, the form becomes
concise and less variable; on the other, the expressive style i
pronounced. The effect of the first tendency is to crystall
number, order, and character of the movements into a com
tion that persists through Bach; the effect of the second is
crease still more the harmonic and melodic vocabulary.
The number of movements in Aldrovandini is invariably
and the order is fixed: slow-fast-slow-fast. The key relat
among the movements is also fairly well established. The
second, and fourth movements are always in the tonic key,
the third may be in the dominant (4 examples), relative
(i example), or subdominant (i example), or it may begin
relative minor and end in the tonic (2 examples).

This content downloaded from

219.244.167.100 on Wed, 25 Jan 2023 07:36:33 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 The Solo Violin Sonata of the Bologna School III

For the first time, the movement derives its character from its
position in the sonata. The first fast movement is in duple rhythm,
sometimes non-imitative, but always serious, the principal move-
ment of the sonata; the second fast movement is always imitative,
in triple rhythm or alla breve, and playful and vivacious in char-
acter. In Aldrovandini, it is possible to make a generalization con-
cerning form that is applicable to all fast movements-namely,
that each movement divides itself into two more or less equal sec-
tions, the first beginning in the tonic and leading to the key of
the second section, which may begin either in the dominant or the
relative major or minor and which returns finally to the tonic.
This tonal structure gives each fast movement an easily compre-
hended symmetry, although the disposition of themes may vary
from one such movement to another. In nine of the twenty fast
movements, the second section begins with the "A" theme in a
related key;25 the other movements reveal various arrangements
of the theme groups, but always within this rigid tonal scheme.
The initial Largo is the shortest of the movements as well as
the richest harmonically. It usually opens with an impressive
angular motive, which is treated sequentially and leads into a broad
dignified cadence. The second slow movement is an instrumental
aria, simple in melody, harmony, and form (which is usually
ABB').
Diminished seventh and Neapolitan sixth chords occur fre-
quently in the opening slow movements, especially in the cadential
formula. Coupled with this kind of harmony is the use of the
melodic intervals of the diminished third, fourth, and seventh.
In addition, Alrovandini includes such chromatic chords as the
major triad on the lowered submediant and the augmented-sixth
chords, which give his music a heightened expressiveness, usually
more suggestive of the Igth century than of the I7th.

Ex.8

25 Only three of the second fast movements are monothematic.

This content downloaded from

219.244.167.100 on Wed, 25 Jan 2023 07:36:33 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
I 2 The Musical Quarterly
A . _ _

JrIrm t
r rf
-T h=
Ex.9

6 6 6 6

The Bologna masters occupy

position in the history of the s
of thirty years they took the
Cazzati and molded it into an art
closer to that used by Bach than
of Corelli. In their hands the
sonata, the number and order
the distinctive character of ea
increasingly more precise. In c
tially lyrical and expressive, the
to the harmonic and melodic v
means, utilizing to the full the
exploiting its more extravagant
for nobility and charm is unpar

This content downloaded from

219.244.167.100 on Wed, 25 Jan 2023 07:36: 1976 12:34:56 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms