trillo del Diavolo, Il

Tartini's violin sonata written at Assisi c. 1745 and said to have been inspired by a dream in which he bargained with the devil for his soul in return for musical inspiration, the devil playing the violin to him. He related that on waking he immediately wrote down what he had heard, but that the music as written fell far short of the dream devil's performance. The work is in four movements, written for violin and continuo; the famous trill is in the finale. An opera on the story of the sonata was written by Falchi.