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Antonio Montanari (1676-1737), who succeeded Corelli as leader of the Roman violinists, is the composer of a small quantity of surviving music of exceptional quality and interest. They include this trio sonata written specifically for two oboes and bass. The extent to which wind instruments were cultivated in Italy in the early eighteenth century is today often not appreciated, and this fine, slightly quirky three-movement sonata, which is very idiomatic without being difficult for the players, forms an excellent companion piece to Vivaldi's sonata in G minor for the same instruments (RV 81) and is likewise preserved uniquely in the Engelhart collection in the University Library of Lund, Sweden.
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