Locatelli's Opus 8 is unusual for its time because it includes ten pieces and mixes genres (violin sonatas and trio sonatas), unlike the common practice of publishing six or twelve pieces of the same genre.
Composition History
Locatelli's Opus 8, titled "X Sonate, VI a violino solo e basso e IV a tre" (1744), was printed at his own expense in Amsterdam.
Compositional Technique
Sonata No. 10 in Opus 8 is notable for its unusual instrumentation, promoting the cello to a second voice, suggesting it may have been written for a skilled amateur or professional cellist.
Compositional Technique
Locatelli's solo sonatas in Opus 8 show a blend of older Corellian forms, like four movements starting with a slow one, and more modern elements, such as three-movement structures and homophony.
Composition History
The Opus 8 may have been a collection of pieces tailored to the taste and skills of the wealthy Amsterdam bourgeoisie, rather than its dedicatee, Abraham Croock, a gunpowder merchant.
Composer Biography
Pietro Antonio Locatelli, the composer, settled in Amsterdam in 1729 and remained there for the last thirty-five years of his life.
Composition History
The Opus 8 marks the end of a long period of publications for Locatelli, followed by an unexplained silence of about eighteen years.
