Leclair: Premier livre de sonates à violon seul avec la basse continue, Op. 1 (Excerpts)

Featuring

Fabio Biondi
Maurizio Naddeo
Rinaldo Alessandrini
Pascal Monteilhet
Jean-Marie Leclair

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Jean-Marie Leclair's music synthesizes the 'French style' and 'Italian style' that were in rivalry during the 17th and 18th centuries in Paris.

Composer Biography

Jean-Marie Leclair, born in 1697, was the son of a passementerie maker, cellist, and amateur dancer who had six sons who were violinists; Leclair himself first appeared in music history as a dancer.

Compositional Technique

Leclair's violin sonatas exploit all known possibilities of violinistic virtuosity of the time, including figuration, arpeggios, battues, repeated notes, and double stops.

Composition History

Leclair's Premier Livre de Sonates A Violon Seul avec La Basse Continue (First Book of Sonatas for Solo Violin with Basso Continuo) was his first publication in 1723 and was reprinted multiple times, indicating its success.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Leclair was known for the perfect equilibrium in his works, combining the Italian tradition of violin writing and handling with the French tradition, without falling into excessive virtuosity.

Composer Biography

Jean-Marie Leclair died mysteriously in Paris in 1764 from a knife wound inflicted by an unknown assailant.

Composer Biography

Jean-Marie Leclair was ballet master at the Court of Turin and studied violin there, later studying with the brilliant Italian violinists Somis and Locatelli.