Sammartini:
Sonatas in G major, Op. 13 No. 4, A minor Op. 2 No. 10 & a minor Op. 1 parte seconda No. 4
Sonata (Trio) No. 6 in D minor

Handel:
Sonatas in B flat major HWV 357, F major HWV 405 & C minor HWV 366

The large output of Giuseppe Sammartini’s flute repertoire was defined by Charles Burney as being ‘full of science, originality, and fire’. Both the dramatic mood of his music and the abundant use of contrapuntal technique are rooted in the Baroque style. The expressive, often chromatic, harmony of his slow movements shows the influence of the Italian school. His work contains some galant features too, like the embellishments and passages in slow harmonic rhythm. Also the frequent use of minuet - and rondo finales – is characteristic of this later style. The three works of George Frideric Handel on this recording were written between 1707 and 1712. The works, originally written for oboe or recorder, are played in transposition, in conformity with many other adaptations for the flute. The Bb major solo oboe Sonata is transposed into C major and the C minor Sonata into D, while the Trio in F major is transposed a minor third lower into the more suitable traverso key of D major. The Stanesby flute played by Frank Theuns on this recording possesses a compact and colourful sound; round and reedy in the lower register and elegant, sweet and flexible in the treble. The London instrument maker Thomas Stanesby Junior (1692-1754) also left us, as well as more than 40 transverse flutes, recorders, oboes and bassoons.