Four Centuries of Great Music February 15, 2026 Composers Born in 1685

The year is 1685.  What is so important about this year?  Well in 1685 three master composers of the baroque era were born:  Johann Sebastian Bach, Domenico Scarlatti and George Frideric Handel.  Tonight on Four Centuries of Great Music we will be celebrating the music of these three masters and two less well known composers also born in 1685,  Giuseppe Matteo Alberti and Lodovico Giustini.

Let’s open with Johann Sebastian Bach, specifically his Sonata for Violin & Keyboard No. 6 in G Major, BWV 1019 The Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord No. 6 in G major, BWV 1019, composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, is the final work in his set of six sonatas for violin and obbligato harpsichord, likely originating from his Cöthen period (1717-23) but revised later in Leipzig. Unconventionally structured in five movements, the sonata is often performed in a fast-slow-fast-slow-fast pattern featuring a solo harpsichord movement. The five movements are marked: I. Allegro, II. Largo, III. Allegro (Harpsichord solo), IV. Adagio, and V. Allegro.

The violin sonatas are noted for having fully written-out harpsichord parts rather than figured bass, showcasing a trio sonata texture between the violin and the two hands of the keyboard player.  BWV 1019 exists in multiple versions as Bach frequently revised the movements, substituting or changing their order, indicating it was a work he continued to perform regularly.
The piece is a staple of Baroque chamber music repertoire, often played on period instruments (violin and harpsichord) or modern violin and piano.  The work is celebrated for its contrapuntal mastery and the innovative equal footing it gives to the violin and the keyboard. 

Here is a performance of Johann Sebastian Bach:  Sonata for Violin & Keyboard No. 6 in G Major, BWV 1019 by Rachel Barton Pine, violin & Jory Vinikour, harpsichord from the album Bach: The Sonatas for Violin & Harpsichord    Cedille Records

Johann Sebastian Bach:  Sonata for Violin & Keyboard No. 6 in G Major, BWV 1019: I. Allegro
Johann Sebastian Bach:  Sonata for Violin & Keyboard No. 6 in G Major, BWV 1019: II. Largo
Johann Sebastian Bach:  Sonata for Violin & Keyboard No. 6 in G Major, BWV 1019: III. Allegro
Johann Sebastian Bach:  Sonata for Violin & Keyboard No. 6 in G Major, BWV 1019:. Adagio
Johann Sebastian Bach:  Sonata for Violin & Keyboard No. 6 in G Major, BWV 1019: V. Allegro

Next on this episode Four Centuries of Great Music on which I am celebrating the music of composers born in 1685 is Lodovico Giustini.   Lodovico Giustini was born into musical family, the son of Francesco Giustini, organist at the Congregazione dello Spirito Santo. His uncle Domenico Giustini was the composer of a Mass for twelve voices and choir and his great-uncle Francesco served for fifty years as a singer in the cathedral choir. Lodovico succeeded his father as organist to the Congregazione dello Spirito Santo in 1625, retaining this position until his death in 1743. Lodovico also served as organist at several other churches as well.

The greater part of Giustini’s music for the church has been lost and he is chiefly remembered for his 12 Sonatas for keyboard with loud and soft, popularly called with hammers, Op. 1 which is the first known work to have been specifically written for the pianoforte, later know simply as the piano. So when you don’t have a name for an instrument you have to describe it.  This was published in Florence in 1732 with a dedication to the Portuguese Prince Don Antonio de Bragança, who had such an instrument and had been a harpsichord pupil of Domenico Scarlatti. The prefatory letter of dedication, in Italian, was written by the Benedictine monk Dom João de Seixas, who claims to have seen the sonatas during a visit to Italy.  Bartolomeo Cristofori, who died in 1731, had been employed at the Medici court in Florence for many years, and at the turn of the century had worked on a hammered keyboard instrument.  In 1732, when Giustini’s sonatas were published, this instrument (the original pianoforte) was still a relative rarity in the possession of members of the Portuguese court and before long at that of Spain.  The harpsichord was to retain its place for some years to come, but the new instrument, which could play soft and loud with its hammer action, gradually gained ground. There were and are ways of producing different levels of sound on the harpsichord with its mechanism of plucked strings, particularly on instruments with two manuals, but no good means of producing gradual nuances of dynamics; while the clavichord, with its delicate hammer action of brass tangents, cannot give the same volume of sound as the pianoforte, as greater weight on the keys will produce changes in volume. The advantage of Cristofori’s invention was that the new instrument could play loudly and softly, but was also capable of gradations between
the two, a nuance specified in Giustini’s sonatas, with directions such as più forte and più piano. Giustini’s sonatas are in four or five movements, which generally have dance titles, as in the usual sonata da camera. In one general respect, however, they follow the form of the sonata da chiesa, the church sonata, with its alternation of fast and slow movements.

Today we will be listening to his Sonata No. 9 in C major is in 4 movements.  Sonata No. 9 in C major begins with a Sarabande, marked andante and containing passing idiosyncratic harmonies, its repeated sections decorated, as always, on their return. The second movement is an uncommonly sprightly Alemanda marked allegro. This leads to a C minor Rondò marked affettuoso with well defined echo effects. The last movement is a cheerful Gavotta marked allegro.

Here is a performance  of Lodovico Giustini: Sonata for keyboard with loud and soft, popularly called with hammers in C major, Op. 1 No. 9 by Enrico Maria Polimanti from the album Lodovico Giustini:  Sonate da cimbalo di piano e forte, Op. 1. Nos. 2, 4, 7, 9 and 10. Naxos Recordings

Lodovico Giustini: Sonata for keyboard with loud and soft in C major, Op. 1 No. 9: I. Sarabanda: Andante 6:32
Lodovico Giustini: Sonata for keyboard with loud and soft in C major, Op. 1 No. 9: II. Alemanda: Allegro 3:47
Lodovico Giustini: Sonata for keyboard with loud and soft in C major, Op. 1 No. 9: III. Rondò: Affettuoso 2:07
Lodovico Giustini: Sonata for keyboard with loud and soft in C major, Op. 1 No. 9: IV. Gavotta: Allegro 2:38


Handel’s harpsichord works are rarely performed by established pianists in the concert halls of the world, their existence completely overshadowed by his operas and oratorios. And this remains the case despite Sviatoslav Richter’s success in the 1970s in demonstrating that Handel’s harpsichord music is just
as well suited to the modern piano as similar works by Bach and Domenico Scarlatti. Central to Handel’s compositions for the harpsichord are the 8 Suites de pièces pour le clavecin contained in his first printed collection of 1720 and the 9 Suites de pièces from his second collection of 1733. Unlike Bach, Handel eschewed the traditional sequence of dance movements in these works, namely, allemande, sarabande, courante and gigue, and frequently added further elements such as préludes, airs, minuets and other movements identified only by their tempo markings. In this way Handel’s suites are all markedly individualistic in character. All of their movements, moreover, are structured along less rigorous and less complex lines than those of Bach, making them more playful, with the result that they often exude a radiant joie de vivre.

Today I will be playing the Suite No. 5 in E major HWV 430.  It is in 4 movements I. Prélude,  II. Allemande, III. Courante and IV. Air – Double I–V which is the theme with 5 Variations of the song The Harmonious Blacksmith  here performed by Seong-Jin Cho, piano from the album The Handel Project  Deutsche Grammophon



George Frideric Handel:  Suite No. 5 in E major HWV 430 from 8 Suites de pièces pour le clavecin, 1720 - I. Prélude                        2:09
George Frideric Handel:  Suite No. 5 in E major HWV 430 from 8 Suites de pièces pour le clavecin, 1720 - II. Allemande.                        4:33
George Frideric Handel:  Suite No. 5 in E major HWV 430 from 8 Suites de pièces pour le clavecin, 1720 - III. Courante                         1:42
George Frideric Handel:  Suite No. 5 in E major HWV 430 from 8 Suites de pièces pour le clavecin, 1720 - IV. Air – Double I–V     [Air with 5 Variations “The Harmonious Blacksmith”]            3:37



Domenico Scarlatti published his Essercizi  (Ezer-chee zee) in London in 1738 which became the basis for a set of 12 Scarlatti sonatas revised for pianoforte and published by English pianoforte builder and composer Muzio Clementi in 1791.  Two of these turned out not be written by Scarlatti, but it is unclear whether Clementi knew that.  

Let listen to 5 of these sonatas from this collection:

Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata III, K. 380, Allegro commodo, F major
Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata IV, K. 490, Cantabile, D major
Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata V, K. 400, Allegro molto, D major
Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata VI, K. 475, Allegro di molto, E flat major
Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata VII, K. 381, Allegro, E flat major

Here is a performance by Charles Metz on a 1806 square pianoforte built by Clementi himself from the album SCARLATTI SONATAS: 
A 1791 PUBLICATION EDITED BY MUZIO CLEMENTI FOR THE PIANO-FORTE. Navona Records

Next on this episode Four Centuries of Great Music on which I am celebrating the music of composers born in 1685 is Giuseppe Matteo Alberti.  Giuseppe Matteo Alberti was born in Bologna, Papal States (now Italy) and was both an Italian composer and violinist.  As a prominent educator in 1705, he became a member of the Accademia Filarmonica. Later, he was elected a president of the Accademia Filarmonica six times, the first time in 1721.  His works were influenced by Antonio Vivaldi and they were much played in England. He wrote mostly instrumental works and published 12 symphonies as well as 10 concertos in six parts for violins.

We will listen to his Sinfonia Teatrale à 4 for Four Trumpets and Strings which is in 4 movements Allegro assai, adagio, grave and allegro assai.  This is a performance by John Wallace, Philharmonia Orchestra & Christopher Warren-Green from the album Trumpet Music from the Italian Baroque


Giuseppe Matteo Alberti: Sinfonia Teatrale à 4 for Four Trumpets and Strings: I. Allegro assai
Giuseppe Matteo Alberti:  Sinfonia Teatrale à 4 for Four Trumpets and Strings: II. Adagio
Giuseppe Matteo Alberti:  Sinfonia Teatrale à 4 for Four Trumpets and Strings: III. Grave
Giuseppe Matteo Alberti:  Sinfonia Teatrale à 4 for Four Trumpets and Strings: IV. Allegro assai

John Wallace, Philharmonia Orhestra & Christopher Warren-Green
Trumpet Music from the Italian Baroque
Wyastone Estate Limited

And we will close this episode Four Centuries of Great Music on which I am celebrating the music of composers born in 1685 with George Frideric Handel’s 2nd and 3rd Water Music Suites as performed by the B’Rock Orchestra conducted by Dmitry Sinkovsky from the album Handel Water and Fire.

You have been listening to George Frideric Handel’s 2nd and 3rd Water Music Suites as performed by the B’Rock Orchestra 
conducted by Dmitry Sinkovsky from the album Handel Water and Fire. Pentatone Records

Thank you for listening to today’s Four Centuries of Great Music and listen again next Sunday at 3pm.