Instructive original text

Vivaldi's Sonatas op. 2 - the usual debut work of a young aspiring musician since Corelli - were for a long time completely overshadowed by his violin concertos, even though they stand out from the comparable works of his contemporaries. These sonata da camera with a clearly dialogic basso could even be used as duets with cello. It seems that Vivaldi wrote many of the virtuoso, yet not too difficult, fast movements in the work for use in lessons with his pupils at the Pio Ospedale della Pietà. He dedicated the first edition, published by Bortoli in Venice in 1709, to the King of Denmark and Sweden, who was staying in that city at the time. The order for the reprint from Rogers in Amsterdam was also in line with this ambition: It is produced in copperplate engraving technique - more legible than the Venetian type print (a facsimile of the latter can be found in the score on page 47) - and now includes figuring of the bass, which suited its use by aristocratic amateurs in the north. In Italy, where only trained musicians played, this was not necessary.

Adolf Busch's fine arrangement of the Sonata II with a beautifully ornamented Adagio and the "Urtext op. 5" by Nagels (Walter Upmeier) - described by Vivaldi in the title as the second part of op. 2 - prove the high regard in which the work was held in the last century. In the present, excellent Urtext with easy-to-perform continuo realization by Joachim Reutter, the detailed and helpful preface and critical notes are impressive. They provide many valuable tips for a stylish interpretation.

Antonio Vivaldi: Sonatas for violin and b.c. op. 2, edited by Bernhard Moosbauer, score with continuo realization by Jochen Reutter, violin and bass parts UT 50176, € 29.95, Wiener Urtext Edition (Schott/Universal Edition), Vienna 2012