The Devil's trill sonata, Tartini and his teachings
Abstract
A musician performing an historical composition should first gain as much
knowledge as possible about the original intent of the composer. With this
understanding, the performer can add his own appropriate contribution, breathing
new life into the work and making it attractive to the audience.
Tartini taught that the musician should have great freedom to enhance the
piece and had guidelines for performing these personal ornamentations and
cadenzas. He was a prolific composer, but most of his pieces are no longer
performed possibly because musicians today are unaware of the great freedom the
works offer them. In contrast, his Devil’s Trill Sonata is a popular performance
piece today, but it is almost always done in a standard edition. It is wonderful
music, but the violinist loses Tartini’s instruction to add original contributions,
which might add to the piece’s enjoyment.
The Treatise provides a biographical sketch of Giuseppe Tartini, the
historic background of his Devil’s Trill Sonata, and a discussion of his Treatise on
Ornamentation. The treatise gives a musical analysis of the Urtext edition of the
Devil’s Trill Sonata and helpful tips for performing the sonata. A cadenza to the
third movement and Vieuxtemps’ rare quartet arrangement of the sonata are
provided in the appendices. The treatise can provide violinists with a fresh insight
to a popular piece so that they can approach it differently and possibly achieve
new beauty of expression.
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