Was the triosonata QV2:Anh.8 composed by Quantz?

The Augsbach[1] catalog of Quantz’s works reports the following information regarding the triosonata QV2: Anh.8.

In the Dresden Library[2] there are two almost identical versions whose movements are:

Mus. 2139-Q-1a) for transverse flute, violin and bass:

Mus. 2139-Q-1b) for oboe, violin and bass:

In both versions the author indicated on the title page is Augustin Reinhard Stricker (1675-1718/1723).

In the version preserved in Stockholm[3], the author indicated on the title page of the manuscript is Quantz, but a different hand in Swedish has added the indication of Stricker A. R.

In the Swedish version for two flutes and bass the movements are:

and as it clearly appears, this version differs completely from the two preserved in Dresden.

Curiously, the first measure of the three versions is perfectly coincident in all three voices, while the following measures of the Swedish version are totally different; the incipit indicated by Augsbach refers to the first two measures of the Swedish version.

The manuscript with the shelfmark Ms. C 2-R in the Kungliga Musikaliska Akademiens contains a set of 6 trio sonatas, all with the indication of Quantz on the title page, which have been catalogued by Augsbach as:

1. QV2: Anh.23
2. QV2: 13
3. QV2: Anh.27
4. QV2: Anh.16
5. QV2: 12
6. QV2: Anh.8.

From what has been said so far, it seems probable that the trio sonata in the Stockholm library was actually composed by Quantz, while the two Dresden versions are by Stricker.

The little biographical information on Stricker does not allow us to affirm that Quantz knew him directly, even if in the years between 1714 and 1716 they both gravitated towards the same geographical area, the region of Anhalt, and Quantz traveled frequently between the various towns in the area in search of a commission at the court of Dresden, the most musically advanced city of the time.

Certainly Quantz could have known the trio sonatas now preserved in Dresden either directly through the manuscripts that we inherited, probably dating back to years after Stricker’s death[4], or through other earlier manuscript copies. This would be enough to explain the coincidence of the first measure of the trio sonata, which can be interpreted as an exercise in compositional challenge by the young Quantz, who was just starting out as a composer, having moved to Dresden in 1716 and lived there until 1741.

[1] Horst Augsbach – Thematisch-systematisches Verzeichnis der Werke von Johann Joachim Quantz – Carus-Verlag (1997), p. 108

[2] Landesbibliothek – Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden

[3] Kungliga Musikaliska Akademiens – Ms. C 2-R

[4] According to the RISM the manuscripts date back to around 1730

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