Saturday 20 March 2010
Tune of the Day: Siciliana
from Sonata in F major by George Frideric Handel
Sonata No. 11 in F major (HWV 369) is the second of two major-mode recorder sonatas from Handel's Opus 1 collection. It was composed about 1725.
The third movement is quite an unusual one for a sonata da chiesa (which means “church sonata”, although these compositions were not meant to be performed in religious ceremonies). Handel inserts in the sonata this Siciliana in D minor, with short motives that end on the third beat of the measure. This movement naturally leads into the final Allegro, or Giga, which is also in 12/8.