Jean Marie Leclair (1697-1764) was born in Lyon. He also performed here as a violinist and dancer after a temporary stay in Rouen. He then studied with G.B. Somis (a student of Corelli) in Turin. From 1728 he lived in Paris, where he worked for several years as a violinist in the royal chapel and later as a private teacher and composer. With him, violin playing reached its first peak in France. Leclair published four books of 12 sonatas each for violin and figured bass; our sonata is the ninth in the fourth book, opus 9, and in form and style represents the type of chamber sonata or suite.
It begins with two dances, a French courante and an allemande. The usual order is reversed here. The Adagio has none of the solemn seriousness of the church sonata. Despite elaborate modulations and many double stops, it is dominated by gentle expression. The finale is a lightly moving and elegant piece in 3/4 time. The formal type of the fugal allegro is completely absent here. The source is a copy of the original edition of the 4th book in the New York Public Library, published in Paris in 1738 and engraved by Leclair's second wife Luise-Catherine. The dynamic indications and line markings added by the editor have usually been indicated.
Content:
- Courante à la Française
- Allegro moderato (Allemande)
- Adagio
- Vivace (Non troppo Allegro)
