Martino Bitti

Cambridge Sonata No. 3

The twelve 'Cambridge' sonatas, presented to Cardinal Ottoboni, represent the 'late', galant Bitti, full of lovingly sculpted ornamental detail for the violin but with the same resourceful harmony and perfectly proportioned forms as before. The third sonata of the group, in four movements, is a radically updated new version of the first 'London' sonata (published as HH328). Each of its four movements lavishly decorates and/or paraphrases the material of the prototype, producing what is in effect a new composition breathing the air of the 1720s.