Soler, Antonio

1) ANTONIO SOLER (1729-1783). Thirty-two keyboard works, of which the first twenty-nine are sonatas by Soler, and the rest may also be by him, folios 1-60 -- 2) RAFAEL ANGLÉS (1730-1816). "Salmodia de Dr Rafael Angles, para Vicente Torreño", [for organ], folios 61-79 -- 3) "BARRERA" [i.e. Pedro Carrera y Lanchares (fl.1786-1815)]. "Juego de versos de todos tonos", (c.1792), folios 80-83  --  4) SOLER. "Versos para Te Deum", folios 84-92;  notated in brown ink, mainly in the hand of Vicente Torreño, on four two-stave systems per page, with deletions and corrections, also including pieces titled "Cantabile Comp^to", "Minue Francese", "Rondo", some pieces calling for two manuals, trumpet stops (or imitations of trumpets),

182 pages, oblong 4to (c.18 x 25cm), 8-stave paper, contemporary stitching, disbound, a few tears to the edges of the first leaf, well-thumbed in places



This is an substantial contemporary source for the sonatas of Antonio Soler, the most important Spanish composer of the eighteenth century.  The wide-ranging keyboard techniques demanded by Soler in his sonatas, including hand-crossing, are strongly reminiscent of his teacher Domenico Scarlatti, suggesting they are designed for the harpsichord.   None of Soler's sonatas appeared in print during his lifetime, although twenty-seven were published by Birchall in London in c.1796 (two of which are included here).   The date of this manuscript is not specified but one piece is signed by Vicente Torreño, who apparently copied and dated a similar collection of Soler's music in 1786.  Torreño appears to have been responsible for much of the present manuscript too, adding pieces to it at different times.   None of Soler's autograph manuscripts survive, but contemporary copies of c.120 sonatas are found in Montserrat, the Escorial, Barcelona and in the Madrid Conservatory.  The sonatas have been published and listed by Samuel Rubio, and those included in this manuscript appear in the following order: nos 28-31, 55, 69, 32, 57, 33, 70-72, 34, 73-74, 16-17, 26-27, 75-82, 49 & 120.   Only nos. 16 and 17 were published in Birchall's 1796 edition.

S. Rubio, Catalogo Critico de la Obra del Padre A. Soler  (Cuenca, 1980);  Ray Izumi, "The Harpsichord Music of Antonio Soler" [website]: http://www.chateaugris.com/Soler/solerpag.htm

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This is an substantial contemporary source for the sonatas of Antonio Soler, the most important Spanish composer of the eighteenth century.  The wide-ranging keyboard techniques demanded by Soler in his sonatas, including hand-crossing, are strongly reminiscent of his teacher Domenico Scarlatti, suggesting they are designed for the harpsichord.   None of Soler's sonatas appeared in print during his lifetime and all autograph manuscripts are lost.  The date of this manuscript is not specified but one piece is signed by Vicente Torreño, who apparently copied and dated a similar collection of Soler's music in 1786.  The sonatas have been published and listed by Samuel Rubio, and those included in this manuscript appear in the following order: nos 28-31, 55, 69, 32, 57, 33, 70-72, 34, 73-74, 16-17, 26-27, 75-82, 49 & 120.