Learn to Play Recorder

Lesson 61: Handel Sonata in G minor, HWV 360 — First Movement

  • Learn the Larghetto (first movement) of Handel's G minor sonata end-to-end.
  • Apply Baroque ornamentation that fits the Handelian style.

Handel wrote four recorder sonatas. The G minor is the one most students meet first.

The Larghetto is the first movement of Handel's most-played recorder sonata — G minor, two flats, with brief excursions to B-flat. The opening dotted-quarter / eighth descending from D to G is the motive the whole movement grows out of.

The Larghetto is the first movement of Handel's most-played recorder sonata. Handel wrote it for alto, so what you see on your alto staff is closer to the original score: C minor (three flats), with brief excursions to E-flat major. The opening dotted-quarter / eighth descending from G to C on your staff is the motive the whole movement grows out of.

The opening motive

Six notes — a falling tetrachord with a dotted figure — that the whole movement grows out of.

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Get the IMSLP or Barenreiter score, mark breath points, and follow the slow-down procedure.

Drill — cadence with trill

The Larghetto's cadences are decorated; the trill on the leading tone (raised F#) is the signature gesture. Practise the cadence as an isolated unit before adding it to the full movement.

The Larghetto's cadences are decorated; the trill on the leading tone (raised B on your alto staff) is the signature gesture. Practise the cadence as an isolated unit before adding it to the full movement.

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Now play this

The full first movement is the work of the lesson.

Handel: Sonata in G minor, HWV 360 (Andante)
The companion second movement; the first must come from your score.
Handel: Sonata in B-flat major, HWV 377 (Allegro)
A companion in the relative major.

When the first movement of HWV 360 is in your hands end-to-end at tempo, with shaped cadence trills and audible phrasing, move on to Lesson 62 for the Andante.