Bigaglia, Diogenio: Three Trio Sonatas

Trio sonatas by Italian composers from the period around 1730 that specify flutes for both upper parts are quite rare. Among the earliest known are these three concise four-movement sonatas of only moderate technical difficulty by the Venetian monk and proficient amateur composer Diogenio Bigaglia, who very likely wrote them to order for a German visitor to his city. They are delightful compositions, full of grace, euphony, wit and contrapuntal dexterity, and they also show great sensitivity towards the delicate sound of the baroque transverse flute (traverso). Interestingly, they were custom-written for a short-lived version of the traverso whose compass went down to Middle C rather than the normal D. This is no problem for a modern concert flute, which has the same lowest note, and players of an ordinary traverso can easily execute the parts with the aid of a few octave-transpositions indicated by the editor.