Year 8, Day 192

Hey guys. Today's song is Devil's Trill Sonata performed by the Amsterdam Sinfonietta featuring Ray Chen.

So while this is known as the Devil's Trill Sonata, technically it is Violin Sonata in G Minor composed by Giuseppe Tartini. So Tartini told French astronomer Jerome Lalande that he dreamed the devil visited him, and Tartini tells the story in Lalande's Voyage d'un François en Italie. He said "One night, in the year 1713 I dreamed I had made a pact with the devil for my soul. Everything went as I wished: my new servant anticipated my every desire. Among other things, I gave him my violin to see if he could play. How great was my astonishment on hearing a sonata so wonderful and so beautiful, played with such great art and intelligence, as I had never even conceived in my boldest flights of fantasy. I felt enraptured, transported, enchanted: my breath failed me, and I awoke. I immediately grasped my violin in order to retain, in part at least, the impression of my dream. In vain! The music which I at this time composed is indeed the best that I ever wrote, and I still call it the "Devil's Trill", but the difference between it and that which so moved me is so great that I would have destroyed my instrument and have said farewell to music forever if it had been possible for me to live without the enjoyment it affords me." If you believe Tartini's words, then he composed this sonata in 1713, but stylistically it sits between the Baroque and Classical style, leading to it seeming to be more likely written in the 1740's. But since it was never actually published until 1798/1799, decades after Tartini had passed away, we can't really be sure of anything. This composition became the inspiration and basis used for Chopin's Prelude No. 27, as well as the 1849 ballet by Cesare Pugni called Le Violon du diable. I can't confirm this, but I also wouldn't be surprised if Tartini is the reason why people attribute fiddle playing (which is literally just a violin) to the devil. Anyway, back to the sonata. This was created to be a solo violin piece, with figured bass accompaniment, and has four movements in it. So yesterday I gave you a solitary movement, today you get a full Suite which ends up being about 15 minutes long, and you can hear the difference in sound as it moves through the sections. And the trill in the last movement is actually one of the earliest examples of a trill representing a musical theme. A trill being the rapid alternating between two notes, usually a tone or semitone apart. This song has been referenced in pop culture when dealing with musicians selling their soul to the devil for musical prowess, so I'm probably not off too much about the fiddle thing. I guess we'll never know if the devil is a musician at heart or not, but at least we got this Suite out of that question. Enjoy.

Peace.