Sonata in G op. 4/9

This man is not to be confused with Jean-Baptiste Lully, (who was the unfortunate soul who died from contracting gangrene, after stabbing his conducting staff through his foot by mistake) but another composer altogether. He appears to have been very prolific as this Sonata is only one of 48 for flute and basso continuo, not counting the other 12 for other combinations with flute!

The Sonata, first published in 1716 as Op. 4 No 9 is a Sonata Da Chiesa, normally broken into a four-movement plan of slow-fast-slow-fast but here having an extra fifth movement, an allegro, to conclude the piece. The arranger has taken the basso continuo part and rendered it in the style of a lutenist or baroque guitarist, and as he explains in the foreword the bass part is incorporated into the guitar part, and therefore the players can either ignore the bass part altogether if they so wish, or it could be played by another bass instrument such as a bassoon.

Furthermore the dynamics articulations and ornaments (except for a small number of trills) are editorial, and with that in mind the arranger has made use of Associate Flute Professor at Florida State University, Eva Amsler, for advice regarding the ornamentation of the flute part.

As for the music itself the opening largo is heavily chordal with mostly long notes on the flute and bass, The ensuing allegro is in a scampering contrapuntal style that is considerably harder to play but very effective. The third movement adagio consists of smaller note values than the opening movement and again is somewhat contrapuntal in its construction followed by a vivace 3/8 that is a scherzo in all but name. The final allegro is the fastest of all the sections and the hardest for the flute player, who needs a large amount of staying power to cope with the frequently extended quaver passages.

This is a very worthwhile and entertaining piece that does need pretty decent players to be able to play the most difficult sections but is definitely one to try out if you have the necessary players.”

Chris Dumigan (Classical Guitar Magazine)