What three famous composers were born in the same year, 1685? When my three violinist friends and I heard this question at a quiz night, our hands shot up simultaneously, sparking the laughter of the other (non-musician) contestants. The answer of course, is Johann Sebastian Bach, Domenico Scarlatti and George Frideric Handel, the composer of the Violin Sonata in F Major HWV 370 in Suzuki’s Volume 6. As I say in the post about Handel’s Chorus, it was a particularly good year. I can’t imagine how music on earth would be without any one of them.

Handel is well known for his oratorios and operas and the abundance of his works for voice is hard to comprehend; 42 operas; 29 oratorios; over 120 cantatas, trios and duets: and then there’s hymns, arias, songs, anthems and much more! His instrumental music is also very extensive – a wealth of concertos, concerti grossi, orchestral works, solo and trio sonatas, and compositions for keyboard. Phew! How did he do it?
What I love about Handel’s music is its soaring tonal naturalness. The journeys his melodies take, the harmonic landscapes they travel through and the ultimate destinations they arrive at, all sound reassuringly complete. I suppose it is the peak of baroque common practice, the pinnacle of diatonic symmetry. Even the surprises in his music resonate with a kind of persuasive inevitability.
The F Major violin sonata is good example: a sweet-sounding piece that carries the audience smoothly along to pleasant places. It is morning music of the best kind.
The second movement, Allegro, is a very good solo concert showpiece for students: excitingly quick and not too long – yet complete enough to stand alone without the other movements of the sonata.
Violin Sonata in F Major, Allegro, by Handel: The Main Points
Technically speaking, there’s not much here that hasn’t been studied in the earlier repertoire pieces. The quick tempo makes it a good precursor to the Allegro by Fiocco, in line with one of Volume 6’s general themes – a step up in velocity. Other than this, there’s just two instances of playing in other positions and a brief jaunt into F minor. It also features rapid string crossings between adjacent strings, the main device that Handel uses to highlight this bright and cheerful melody.
Intonation in Measure 17
One spot where intonation may waver is in measure 17, especially if the intervals and relative finger spaces between the notes G#, F♮, E and D are uncertain. From G# (2nd finger) to F♮ (4th finger) is just one whole tone. E, a semitone lower, can be checked against the open E string.

Rapid String Crossings
The rapid string crossings are practised for clarity and economy, keeping the bow in contact with the string and listening for the melody line. There’s an additional practice resource that members can download called Exercises with Perpetual Motion in Members’ Resources.
Musical Expression – Handel’s Main Lesson
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