Date of Award

1994

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)

Department

Music

First Advisor

Katherine Kemler

Abstract

Teachers are frequently faced with the difficult dilemma of determining what edition of a particular Baroque work they should recommend to their students. This decision is becoming even more difficult as modern publishers continue to produce new editions of standard repertoire. Such is the case with G. F. Handel's solo sonatas, often referred to as his "Opus 1". One publication of these sonatas that has been popular for over fifty years among flutists and flute teachers is G. F. Handel: Seven Sonatas and Famous Largo for Flute and Piano, edited by Robert Cavally (c. 1941). Because this edition was prepared prior to the explosion of exhaustive research of Baroque performance practice, the validity of this edition as a modern performing edition has been questioned. This study evaluates the worth and usefulness of Cavally's edition and assesses how accurately Cavally's edition reflects the content of Handel's original version(s). It also discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the edition and determines what purpose it serves flutists today. To achieve these goals, this study surveys the chronology and publication history of Handel's solo sonatas. It attempts to sort out, in a way comprehensible to performers and teachers, the many complexities surrounding these issues. It compares Handel's autograph manuscripts, contemporary manuscript copies, and the early editions in an attempt to understand the relationship between them. As a result, a clearer distinction between what Handel wrote and Cavally's editorial procedure can be determined.

Pages

118

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_disstheses.5813

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