London Sonata no. 8

This Sonata in A major, clearly belonging to the ‘London’ group but not preserved in the British Library manuscript containing seven similar works, was published by John Walsh in April 1704 as the second sonata by Bitti presented in a series of violin sonatas by different composers delivered to subscribers in twelve monthly instalments. It is an extrovert work well suited to public performance — we know that the Cremonese violinist Gasparo Visconti played it in London. The fast second and slow third movements, unusually for Bitti’s violin sonatas preserved in London, lack clear dance associations: the Allegro starts with playful imitations between violin and bass, but these eventually give way to violin acrobatics; the slow movement is a model of continuously evolving melody.