Description
The first Sonata in this volume is an 18th century arrangement (GB-Ob ms Mus.Sch.
D 249) of Sonata 4 from the 1688 Tyd en Konst-Oeffeningen (opus 2). It was made
by James Sherrard (1666 – 1738), an amateur musician, composer, successful London
apothecary and honorary MD of Oxford University. Sherrard collected many pieces
belonging to the German-Dutch virtuoso viol school, which combined the English
division style with the Italian-inspired Austro-German violin school. Schenck’s
luxuriant but technically demanding chordal and polyphonic writing made it apt for
transcription, although Sherrard pointedly omitted the epsiodes of dramatic flourishes
in his arrangement, perhaps as a concession to the intended scholarly gentlemen
performers.
The second Sonata was arranged by the editor in the same vein in order to give
performers another piece to play with the same combination of instruments.
