Giuseppe Tartini’s Devil’s Trill Sonata came forth from a dream the composer had in 1713 in which he made a pact with the devil and witnessed the latter’s virtuosic playing. After awakening, taken aback by the virtuosic prowess and brilliance of the devil’s music, Tartini attempted to transcribe all he could remember from the dream, though admitted that it was a poor reflection of the devil’s work.
The sonata is written for violin with basso continuo and contains four movements:
1. Larghetto affettuoso
2. Allegro moderato
3. Andante
4. Allegro assai – Andante – Allegro assai
