for violin and basso continuo ad lib. These sonatas are among the epoch-making works of the violin repertoire and nowadays figure in the standard repertoire of every violinist. It is all the more surprising, therefore, that until now there has been no Urtext edition of such significant works.The score is based on a first edition supervised by Corelli himself. From what we know of performance practice in Corellis time, however, more was expected of the violinist than just a musical reading of the printed score it was customary to add ornamentation verging on improvisation, with embellishment and variations as desired.