This pathbreaking study reveals Purcell's extensive use of symmetry and reversal in his much-loved trio sonatas, and shows how these hidden structural processes make his music multilayered and appealing.

"The emergence of pieces designated for specific instruments marked a significant change in musical practice. The celebrated musicologist Willi Apel discusses virtually all the surviving printed works from the seventeenth century that are intended for the violin. He describes the music of some sixty Italian composers of this period, detailing the individual innovative aspects of the pieces, their form, and issues of performance practice." --