Sonata for flute in G Major (Op 9, No 7)

Jean-Marie Leclair l'aîné (the elder) (1697-1764) was a renowned French violinist and composer considered the founder of the French school of violin writing, inventing the left-hand tremolo, which later evolved into vibrato.
Born in Lyon, France, Jean-Marie was the eldest of eight children, many of whom went on to become professional musicians. His father was a master lacemaker and a cellist, ensuring an upbringing steeped in both craftsmanship and music. Leclair’s first professional career was as a dancer. In his youth, he excelled in both dance and lace-making. In 1716, he was hired as a dancer at the opera house in Lyon. While working as a ballet master in Turin, Italy, he began studying the violin under Giovanni Battista Somis, a pupil of Arcangelo Corelli. This Italian training was the pivotal moment that allowed him to eventually merge Italian virtuosity with his native French sensibilities.
In 1723, he arrived in Paris and quickly gained fame at the Concert Spirituel, his mastery of double-stops and high positions shocked and fascinated Parisian audiences. He served as a "Musicien du Roi" for Louis XV from 1733 to 1737. However, he famously resigned after a heated dispute with fellow violinist Jean-Pierre Guignon over who would lead the orchestra. He spent several years at the court of the Princess of Orange in the Netherlands and collaborated with the legendary violinist Pietro Locatelli, an experience that further pushed his technical boundaries.
Leclair took the "French" flute and violin style (noted for its elegance and notes inégales) and infused it with the "Italian" structural rigor and ornamentation. Although primarily a violinist, Leclair was a master of the transverse flute. His eight sonatas for flute and basso continuo (found within his Op. 1, 2, and 9 collections) and his Concerto in C Major, Op. 7, No. 3 remain essential masterpieces of the flute repertoire.
Leclair’s life ended in one of the most famous unsolved mysteries in music history. In 1764, he was found stabbed to death in his home in a dangerous neighborhood of Paris, and the crime was never solved.