[XII Sonatas or Solos for a Violin with a Thorough Bass for the Harpsichord or Violoncello. de CORELLI, Arcangelo - [1706-40]: The second part containing preludes, allemands, corants, jiggs, sarabands, gavots, & y follia.]

[London:] for J. Walsh,, [1706-40]. A handsome Regency-era presentation binding incorporating a variety of exquisite lyre tools, a suitable binding for one of the most influential opuses of the 18th century. "Within months of their publication in 1700 [in Rome] Corelli's Sonate e violone o cimbalo had been accepted by the musical work as having a special status. No other collection of sonatas for solo instrument was to be so studied and imitated. Corelli's contemporaries saw his compositions as having an exemplary character. Roger North exclaimed that 'the touchstone of fugue is Corelli'... The op. 5 sonatas came to be regarded as the hallmark of a performer's musicianship and skill" (Walls, Early Music, February 1996, p. 133). Provenance: Maggs, Bookbinding in the British Isles part II, Spring 1987, 284 (this copy). Folio (320 x 226 mm). Early 19th-century Irish binding of green straight-grain full morocco, flat bands gilt to spine forming small compartments gilt-tooled with Greek-key and single-fillet rolls, alternating with large compartments with blind geometric rolls enclosing central Harp of Erin motifs gilt, broad lyre-tool borders gilt to covers, similar device at corners incorporating a rod and snake, blind-rolled diamond-shaped central panel, three distinct lyre tools gilt to spandrels, "Miss Grant" gilt-stamped to centre with single lyre tools repeated above and below, gilt-gauffered edges, broad-turn ins tooled in gilt and blind, moiré silk doublures with rolled foliate borders gilt, bound pink silk page-marker. Engraved frontispiece portrait by Vandergucht after Howard; 66 pp. of engraved music score. Lacking the title page. Joints very lightly rubbed with a very small (2 x 2 mm) worm-track to front not affecting decoration, tips slightly bumped, a few mild scuffs to covers, light spotting to doublures, light offsetting to p. 1 from frontispiece, top edge of final page restored to no loss of score. An attractively bound copy.