Antonio Veracini (1659 -1733) was born in Florence during the Renaissance, and developed a career as a composer under the Medici patronage. He worked in close contact with the most eminent figures of the court and managed the best music school of the city. This release features the ten violin sonatas Opus 2 composed in 1694, which were officially conceived “to provide practice works for beginners” but actually require of performers excellent technical skills, and are equally noteworthy for their wealth of inspiration. As often occurred at that time, the sonatas are dedicated to members of the Tuscan elite of the day, which makes them even more evocative. The collection is not only varied in its contents but also substantially well-structured. The sonatas consist of a minimum of three to a maximum of five movements of different character, anticipating, also on account of the way in which the music material is treated, characteristic traits of what would be Corelli’s successful Opus 5 (1700). The edition of Antonio Veracini’s sonatas consists of two scores, one for the violin and one for the “harpsichord or the violone”.
