Muffat, Georg

Georg Muffat (1653 Mégève – 1704 Passau)

Sonata Violino Solo, Prague 1677

manuscript, paper, 320×210 mm, acquired 1677, Olomouc Archbishopric – Archdiocesan Museum in Kroměříž, A 562

Muffats style of composition brilliantly combines French elements (he studied composition under J.B. Lully in Paris) with Italian concert style (in Italy he met A. Corelli and studied organ playing under B. Pasquini). Muffat tried to assert himself in Vienna, Salzburg and Prague, finally settling in Passau as an organ player. Sonata Violino Solo is the only known violin sonata by this author. When Muffat sought the position of bandmaster in St. Vitus in Prague, Archbishop Johann Friedrich von Waldstein rejected him, so he turned to Bishop Karl II von Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn with the same application and his sonata to Kroměříž/Olomouc as a sample of his work. Sonata Violino Solo is a pearl among the autographs in the chateau collection and in the repertory of European violin sonatas from the 17th century.
Jitka Kocůrková