Handel: Sonatas in several parts

The circulation of Haendel works were taken over by unscrupuleous publishers -

particularly Walsh. The composer could not control them ; often riddled with

mistakes, featuring improbable figurings in the bass and changes in the

instrumentarium.... Luckily, though, Haendel was fond of regularly recycling

musical material. Hence one finds traces of such and such a trio sonata in an

anthem or an opera aria... in a form that is closely related but never completely

identical. The last movement of trio HWV 389 is reused in Il parnasso in festa. In the sonata a quattro HWV 404, one finds thematic connection with other works, particularly Apollo e Dafne and Alcina and its style is characteristic of the

Cannons period. From the concerto grosso op.3n°3 published by Walsh, L’Assemblée des Honnestes Curieux - seeing that the viola part is a mere octave transposition of the bass and especially finding straight borrowings from the Chandos anthem My song shall be away HWV 252 decided to propose a version following the sonata a quattro’s model.