The trio sonata is a musical form that was popular in
the 17th and early 18th centuries.
A trio sonata is written for two solo melodic
instruments and basso continuo, making three parts in
all, hence the name trio sonata. However, because the
basso continuo is usually made up of at least two
instruments (typically a cello or bass viol and a
keyboard instrument such as the harpsichord).
It is generally accepted that Johann Sebastian Bach
wrote his six Sonatas for Organ for his e...(+)
The trio sonata is a musical form that was popular in
the 17th and early 18th centuries.
A trio sonata is written for two solo melodic
instruments and basso continuo, making three parts in
all, hence the name trio sonata. However, because the
basso continuo is usually made up of at least two
instruments (typically a cello or bass viol and a
keyboard instrument such as the harpsichord).
It is generally accepted that Johann Sebastian Bach
wrote his six Sonatas for Organ for his eldest son,
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, as the not always reliable
W.F. often asserted. There is no strong reason to
disbelieve it, for they appeared at about the right
time and, moreover, are teaching pieces par excellence.
There is a world of difference between the familiar
Bach organ works in the mold of the various preludes or
toccatas and fugues and the Six Sonatas. Compared to
those works, these Sonatas are light, transparent in
texture, never concerned with display or Baroque
flamboyance. They are Trio-Sonatas, works in three
voices, irrespective of how many actual players were
needed. The voices in these works are independent: one
in either hand, the third on the pedals. Ordinarily,
each hand plays on its own manual. Thus, the Sonatas
test and cultivate the student's physical and mental
ability to coordinate all these separate motions of
hands and feet, the interpretive ability to project
each voice equally and clearly to the audience, and the
musical ability to make them meaningful.
Although originally created for organ, I adapted this
work for alto flute and piano. This (fourth) Sonata is
written in the form of a concerto for organ. This first
movement is a Vivace preceded by a short slow
introduction. It is a transcription of a sinfonia of
the cantata Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes, BWV
76 (1723). This number was already a trio for oboe
d'amore, viola, and bass line. It is in a ritornello
form, with a lively main episode interspersed with
contrasting sections.
SHEET MUSIC