In 1730, publisher John Walsh issued
Sonates pour un Traversiere,
un Violon ou Hautbois con Basso Continuo, fraudulently using the
imprint of another publisher, Jeanne Roger. It contained twelve
sonatas, and became known as Handel’s “Opus 1”.
In 1732, Walsh published a revised edition using his own imprint,
with the English title
Solos for a German flute, a hoboy, or violin with
a thorough bass for the harpsichord or bass violin compos’d by Mr.
Handel. Two of the sonatas from the 1730 edition (Sonatas X &
XII—neither of which were actually composed by Handel)
were replaced in the 1732 edition with other sonatas. This Sonata in F
Major is the
Sonata XII of the 1732 edition.
John Walsh prescribed instruments for each sonata (either flute,
recorder, violin or oboe), though these did not necessarily reflect
the composer’s intentions. Of the twelve, this sonata is the third
that is listed as a violin sonata, hence the title listed here,
Sonata
No. 3.
Sources:
1,
2,
and the first edition score listed above.