The first concert of La Grande Bande's 2019-2020 Concert Season will feature violin sonatas, viola da gamba sonatas, and trio sonatas by French composers. Among the composers on the program is Jean-François Dandrieu, a composer and organist lauded by his contemporaries. After his death, his music fell into obscurity. Combining an Italianate compositional style with French flavor, Dandrieu’s trio sonata is sure to remind you of Corelli and Handel.
Many of the pieces selected for this program were likely heard in the apartments of Versailles and other noble houses throughout France. Musical engravers and printers in France were one of the most important sources for disseminating music throughout the country. The sources for many of the pieces on this program are their seventeenth- and eighteenth-century printings.