Devil's Trill Sonata Violin Sonata in G minor Larghetto affettuosoAllegro moderatoAndanteAllegro assai-Andante-Allegro assai The story behind "Devil's Trill" starts with a dream. Tartini allegedly told the French astronomer Jérôme Lalande that he dreamed that The Devil appeared to him and asked to be his servant. At the end of their lessons Tartini handed the devil his violin to test his skill—the devil immediately began to play with such virtuosity that Tartini felt his breath taken away. The complete story is told by Tartini himself in Lalande's Voyage d'un François en Italie (1765 - 66): "One night, in the year 1713 I dreamed I had made a pact with the devil for my soul.
Giuseppe Tartini Giuseppe Tartini. Giuseppe Tartini (8 April 1692 – 26 February 1770) was an Italian[1] Baroque composer and violinist. Biography[edit] Tartini was born in Piran, a town on the peninsula of Istria, in the Republic of Venice (now in Slovenia) to Gianantonio – native of Florence – and Caterina Zangrando, a descendant of one of the oldest aristocratic Piranian families.[2] Legend says when Tartini heard Francesco Maria Veracini's playing in 1716, he was impressed by it and dissatisfied with his own skill. Tartini's skill improved tremendously and, in 1721, he was appointed Maestro di Cappella at the Basilica di Sant'Antonio in Padua, with a contract that allowed him to play for other institutions if he wished. Tartini was the first known owner of a violin made by Antonio Stradivari in 1715, which Tartini bestowed upon his student Salvini, who in turn bestowed it to Karol Lipiński upon hearing him perform, from which it derives its moniker, the Lipinski Stradivarius. Compositions[edit]
Johann Pachelbel Pachelbel's autograph signature from his 1695 letter to Gotha city authorities Johann Pachelbel (German: [ˈjoːhan ˈpaxəlbɛl]; baptised September 1, 1653 – buried March 9, 1706)[1] was a German Baroque composer, organist and teacher who brought the south German organ tradition to its peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secular music, and his contributions to the development of the chorale prelude and fugue have earned him a place among the most important composers of the middle Baroque era.[2] Life[edit] 1653–1674: Early youth and education (Nuremberg, Altdorf, Regensburg)[edit] Johann Pachelbel was born in 1653 in Nuremberg into a middle-class family, son of Johann (Hans) Pachelbel (born 1613 in Wunsiedel, Germany), a wine dealer,[4] and his second wife Anna (Anne) Maria Mair. Pachelbel was also permitted to study music outside the Gymnasium. 1673–1690: Career (Vienna, Eisenach, Erfurt)[edit] Prentz left for Eichstätt in 1672. Pachelbel's autograph letter Posthumous influence[edit]