ABSTRACT
The works listed in the Sonsfeld catalogue offer a good cross-section of instrumental music enjoyed at a typical German or Dutch minor court in the central decades of the eighteenth century. The independent derivation of the two sets of parts from a single source would allow the possibility that each, in its own way, transmits faithfully some elements from that source while modifying others. The choice of musical forms in RV Anh. 66 fits the Antonio Lucio Vivaldian model equally well. Since none of the chamber concertos obviously predates the sojoum of the Saxon musicians, one is tempted to wonder whether Vivaldi did not create this sub-genre ex nihilo in direct response to the stimulus they provided. Doubtless, they brought to Venice a rich native repertoire of chamber music that included parts for wind instruments, but the absence of a bassoonist or cellist among the visitors makes the presence of works employing quadro scoring improbable.
