Jean Baptiste Senaillé

Pursuing in his father’s “footsteps” as an associate of the 24 Violons du Roi, Senaille was appointed in 1713 going for a brief break to go to Italy and rejoining the “Violins from the Ruler” in 1720. His main contribution to music, apart from his violin playing, was his structure of around fifty violin sonatas. The sonatas in and of themselves are essential because Senaille was the first ever to combine areas of the French design with areas of the Italian conventions. The sonatas support the elegant melodies, violin virtuosity and enigmatic dance rhythms from the French and imitation and melodic thoroughbass from the Italian way.