Description
Even great luminaries can make mistakes. For example, as late as 1750, the multi-talented Jean-Jacques Rousseau was firmly convinced in the renowned French Encyclopedie that the sonata was "such an unnatural fashion" that it "would not last". And this despite that quite a few of his fellow musicians paid tribute to this Italian genre, producing many fine pieces. An early example appeared in 1713. It was published under the customary royal privilege as Opus 3 by the 33-year-old Parisian organist and harpsichordist Louis-Antoine Dornel. It is a collection of seven trio sonatas for transverse flutes, violins, oboes, etc. Thanks to its highly variable instrumentation, it allowed for a wide circle of instrumentalists to perform these tasteful, varied and thoughtfully composed pieces. Today, Dornel's Opus 3 is a veritable rarity, and the Orfeo Blaserensemble has again brought it into the limelight. They would have even convinced Rousseau...