Cambridge' Sonata No. 9

The twelve ‘Cambridge’ sonatas, presented to Cardinal Ottoboni, represent the ‘late’, galant Bitti, full of lovingly sculpted ornamental detail for the violin but with the same resourceful harmony and perfectly proportioned forms as before. The ninth sonata of the group, in five movements, is one of Bitti’s most ambitious and advanced in style. Its second movement, in C minor, is a languorous Largo in siciliana rhythm, and the finale is a gavotte-like theme with five variations (variation form was just beginning to become a popular option for the final movement of a violin sonata at the time this work was written).