There are very few books on baroque music that do not mention Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville and his innovations. His progressive Op. 3 sonatas paired the violin with a completely written out harpsichord part. Two years later, he wrote Les sons harmoniques, Sonates à violon seul avec la basse continue, Op. 4. This time, the novelty appeared in the violin part. For the first time, harmonics were described and written for a stringed instrument. After a brief period of reluctance, composers embraced the technique, which is still used today.

Part I of this monograph introduces the musical setting in Paris during Mondonville's early career. Concert life and composers in eighteenth-century Paris are discussed, with an emphasis on the debate between Italian and French styles and the heavy influence of Italian musicians in Paris during this period, establishing a context for Mondonville's life and musical development before 1738.

Part II treats issues style and performance issues found specifically in Op. 4. These include baroque and classical elements within the sonatas, fingering and bowing, French ornaments and performance practice, the possibility of Italianate ornamentation within Op. 4, Mondonville's use of double-stops, and the determination of tempo. Finally, musical and technical questions raised by Mondonville's pioneering use of harmonics are considered. A compact disc recording of Op. 4, No. 1 is included.*

*This dissertation is a compound document (contains both a paper copy and a CD as part of the dissertation). The CD requires the following system requirements: Windows MediaPlayer or RealPlayer.