Sonata in A minor for Four ‘Cellos, Op.34/6
Adagio
Allegro
Largo
Allegro
The French composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier spent most of his enormously prolific career in Paris. He published some 102 works with opus numbers, each opus often itself containing six separate works, and was even mocked by his contemporaries for his fluency. His oeuvre is not undistinguished; he wrote the first French solo concerto, for ‘cello, in 1729, and some of his music, particularly for flute, is still played. La Borde wrote "Although [his works] have long been forgotten, anyone who troubles to excavate this abandoned mine will find enough grains of gold to make an ingot". This sonata, published as part of his Op.34, "Six sonates à 4 parties différentes et également travaillées", is one such grain of gold.
R.G.Bratby, 1999
Copyright Classical Notes.co.uk 2000
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