"On 28 May 1683, the 24-year-old Henry Purcell proudly announced in the London Gazette that his Sonnata's of Parts were 'compleatly finished' and would be available for delivery to subscribers from June 11 from his house in St. Ann's Lane, near to Westminster Abbey. By October, 'all lovers of Musick' were invited to purchase from Playford and Carr, at their premises at the Temple, Fleet Street, 'the new Musical Compositions called Sonata's lately published by Mr Henry Purcell'. From variations between surviving sets (perhaps made between subscription and public sale), it would appear that a second impression was created: changes were made to the preface, and a few corrections too were incorporated.
"Purcell clearly put a great deal of effort into the publication. Rather than choosing the cheaper system of moveable type, he had his publication engraved by Thomas Cross Junior (in one of the first recorded examples of Cross's work as an engraver). Purcell dedicated the set to Charles II, stating that the compositions were 'the immediate Results of your Majesties Royall favour, and benignity to me (which have made me what I am)'. King Charles had indeed been a good patron to Purcell, appointing him Composer-In-Ordinary for the violins in succession to Matthew Locke in 1677 (when Purcell was only eighteen), and subsequently as organist both at Westminster Abbey and at the Chapel Royal.
"At some point in the early 1680s Purcell seems to have spent a considerable amount of time producing instrumental sonatas. We know that when Purcell explored a new musical concept, he poured out works with extraordinary fecundity. He had already shown in his early sacred compositions (for instance, penning masterworks such as 'My beloved spoke' and 'Blow up the trumpet' while he was still a teenager) that he possessed astonishing melodic and harmonic inventiveness, as well as highly-developed technical facilities. Now it seems that he additionally turned these remarkable skills towards instrumental compositions. Comparing the 'Twelve Sonatas of Three Parts', published in 1683, with the 'Ten Sonatas In Four Parts' (published by Purcell's widow, Frances, in 1697), we can be fairly certain on stylistic grounds that all these sonatas seem to have been written at around the same time. The summer recess of the court to Newmarket, when musical duties for the royal musicians were suspended, could have provided a perfect few months of peace and quiet for the youthful Purcell to pour out these new works.
"A further pointer towards the possible period of composition comes in the preface to the 1683 set, where Purcell states that the works would have been 'in the whole world much Sooner, but that he has now thought fit to cause the whole Thorough Bass to be Engraven, which was a thing quite besides his first Resolution'. The catalyst for that revision, resulting in the production of a separate basso continuo part, may have been the publication, in Rome in 1681 (and presumably arriving in Britain shortly afterwards), of Corelli's first set of 'Sonata da chiesa', which contained variations between the instrumental bass line and the continuo line. So perhaps Purcell had written his own sonatas before 1681, electing then to revise them in the light of these latest revelations from Italy.
"The addition of that semi-independent fourth part, which Purcell states is suited 'To the Organ or Harpsechord', creates a major shift in the construction and sound of the sonatas. The level of decoration in the bass viol comes close to that of the two violin parts, whereas the continuo line is slower moving, instead enhancing and strengthening the harmonic basis of the ensemble (especially when played on the organ, as seems more fitting in the majority of the sonatas). Purcell's sonatas are no modernised version of the old viol fantasia, typified by the delicious compositions of his mentor, Matthew Locke, the works of John Jenkins or the suites of William Lawes. With strengthened harmonic language that is not Just wonderfully individual, but highly developed in its use of dissonance and angularity, coupled with melodic lines that cover all possibilities from plangent to daringly pointed, here is the new, English Sonata.
"Purcell's fluent melodic and harmonic invention is underpinned by a highly skilled grasp of compositional technique, which had been thoroughly learned from study of the works of three lines of English composers. In the composer's Fitzwilliam autograph (MS 88) we can see Purcell's copies of music by the great English polyphonists, Orlando Gibbons, William Byrd, Thomas Tallis and William Mundy. Alongside his studies of the old masters, he also experienced the remarkable compositional flowering that greeted the Restoration: old hands who had survived the interregnum, such as Matthew Locke (1621/2-77), Orlando's son Christopher Gibbons (1615-76) and John Jenkins (1592-1678). Their wisdom was passed, live, onto the new generation, led by Pelham Humfrey (1647-74) and John Blow (1649-1708). For Purcell, this fusion of the music of three generations of fine English composers, the continuing musical buzz that had arisen with the return of the monarchy, the excitement brought with each successive arrival of the latest works from France and Italy, and the genuine love of music that was fostered and encouraged by King Charles, proved to be a potent basis for an extraordinary, highly individual musical style.
"That the sonatas were quite a new concept to his audience is made clear by Purcell's guidance in his preface 'To the Reader'. Purcell writes that his works are 'a just imitation of the most fam'd Italian Masters', and that he wishes to bring 'the seriousness and gravity of that sort of Musick into vogue'. He cautions the potential buyer that his works are 'bold and daring', whilst professing his 'unskilfulness in the Italian Language' (noting that this is due to 'the unhappiness of his Education, which cannot justly be accounted his fault'), and recommends to English musicians 'the power of the Italian Notes' and the 'elegancy of their Compositions'. Finally he gives useful instructions about tempi: Adagio and Grave are 'a very slow movement' [speed], Presto Largo, Poco Largo or Largo are 'a middle movement' and Allegro and Vlvace are 'a very brisk, swift, or fast movement'. That Purcell needs to instruct in Italian tempi suggests that at least some English musicians would have been unfamiliar with such foreign terms." (Robert King. From the liner notes.)
Performers: The King's Consort
1. Sonata 1 In G Minor, Z. 790: (Grave) - Vivace - Adagio
2. Sonata 1 In G Minor, Z790: Presto - Largo
3. Sonata 2 In B Flat Major, Z791: Andante - Largo - Presto
4. Sonata 2 In B Flat Major, Z791: Adagio - Vivace - Allegro - [Grave]
5. Sonata 3 In D Minor, Z792: (Grave) - Adagio - Canzona - Adagio
6. Sonata 3 In D Minor, Z792: Poco Largo - Allegro
7. Sonata 4 In F Major, Z793: [Largo] - Canzona
8. Sonata 4 In F Major, Z793: Poco Largo - Allegro - [Largo]
9. Sonata 5 In A Minor, Z794: [Largo] - Adagio
10. Sonata 5 In A Minor, Z794: Largo - Grave - Canzona - Adagio
11. Sonata 6 In C Major, Z795: (Grave)
12. Sonata 6 In C Major, Z795: Canzona - Largo - Allegro
13. Sonata 7 In E Minor, Z796: [Grave] - Canzona
14. Sonata 7 In E Minor, Z796: Largo - Grave - Vivace - Adagio
15. Sonata 8 In G Major, Z797: [Largo] - Poco Largo - Allegro
16. Sonata 8 In G Major, Z797: Grave - Vivace
17. Sonata 9 In C Minor, Z798: [Grave] - Largo
18. Sonata 9 In C Minor, Z798: Canzona - Adagio - Allegro
19. Sonata 10 In A Major, Z799: [Allegro] - Largo
20. Sonata 10 In A Major, Z799: Grave - Presto
21. Sonata 11 In F Minor, Z800: [Grave] - Canzona
22. Sonata 11 In F Minor, Z800: Adagio - Largo
23. Sonata 12 In D Major, Z801: Adagio - Canzona - Poco Largo
24. Sonata 12 In D Major, Z801: Grave - Presto - Allegro - Adagio
