Draft talk:Trio sonata

The trio sonata is a genre, typically consisting of three or four movements with contrasting two melody instruments and a continuo (Boer, pg.466). Originating in the early seventeenth-century, the trio sonata was a favorite chamber ensemble combination in the Baroque era.

Basic Structure

The trio sonata typically consisted of three parts, two violins and a continuo. However, the two violins could be substituted for pairs of flutes, recorders, or oboes. The second part, the basso continuo, has two parts. First, it includes the bass line, which most commonly was provided with a bass viol, violone, violoncello, or bassoon. Second, it includes a harmony-producing instrument, such as a small organ, a harpsichord, or a theorbo. The (basso) continuo could be performed by two or more performers; a cellist to play the bass line and a harpsichordist or organist to focus on the harmonies. Because there could be two people playing the continuo part, there could be as many as four players playing. This can be misleading to some as the “trio” of the trio sonata refers to the three parts and not the number of players. Sonatas could be placed into two categories: sonata da camera (chamber sonata) and sonata da chiesa (church sonata). The chamber sonata was considered a group of stylized dances and church sonatas were much more serious and typically arranged into a slow-fast-slow-fast sequence.

Composers, compositions and variant formats

Arcangelo Corelli

Italian composer, Arcangelo Corelli, was one of most influential composers of the trio sonata and this is where most of his fame came from. This is because he known for developing the model for the trio sonata. One of his most famous works are the four volumes of trio sonatas for two violins and continuo (Opus 1, Opus 2, Opus 3, and Opus 4). These trio sonatas were classified as sonata da chiesas or church sonatas, however, the last two movements do resemble stylized dances.

Other works of his collection are Twelve Trio-Sonatas created in 1683 (dedicated to Queen Christina of Sweden), Twelve Chamber Sonatas (1685-dedicated to Cardinal Panfili), Twelve Trio-Sonatas (1694-dedicated to Cardinal Ottoboni), Twelve Sonatas for Violin and Bass (1700-dedicated to Sophia Charlotte, Electress of Brandenburg), and Twelve Conerti Grossi (1712-dedicated to the Elector of the Palatinate) (Stewart, 1953).

Johann Sebastian Bach

German composer, Johann Sebastian Bach, is another notable composer of the trio sonata, but he was known for shying away from the traditional structure of the sonata. He typically played the three parts with less than three instruments. An example of this is one part would be played by the violin and the other two parts could be played by a keyboard. He also experimented with playing all three parts on the organ. An example of this is Bach’s Trio Sonata for organ, BMV 525-530.

Other trio sonatas by Bach include:

• Trio Sonatas for organ, BWV 525–530, combining all three parts on one instrument: typically the right hand, left hand and pedals will each take a different part thus creating the same texture as in a trio.
• A further innovation by Bach was the trio sonatas involving a concertante (obbligato) right-hand harpsichord part in addition to the bass line, plus one melodic instrument, thus for two players (Breig 1997). Examples are the Six Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord, BWV 1014–1019, three sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord, BWV 1027–1029, and three sonatas for flute and harpsichord, BWV 1030–1032; BWV 1031 is doubtful (Schmieder, Dürr, and Kobayashi 1998, 420–21 and 466).
• Sonata in G major for two flutes and basso continuo, BWV 1039, variant version for two flutes and basso continuo of BWV 1027
• BWV 1036–1038: Trio Sonatas for basso continuo and two violins. The attribution of these works to Bach is doubtful, but all are typical of baroque chamber music.
• The mid-18th-century manuscript D-B Mus. ms. Bach St 345 contains a Concerto (or: Trio Sonata) in C major for violin, cello and continuo, arranged from (or: earlier version of) BWV 525/1, 1032/2 and 525/3 respectively (Bach (et al.?) 1740–1760). The 1998 edition of the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis lists this version as BWV 525a, and considers the attribution of the arrangement to Bach doubtful (Schmieder, Dürr & others 1998, 466). Based on the New Bach Edition, the Bach Digital website gives "BWV deest" instead of the BWV number 525a for this chamber music version (Hofmann 2006).

Other composers

• Tomaso Albinoni, 12 sonatas da chiesa Op. 1, twelve balletti a tre Op. 3, twelve Trattenimenti armonici per camera, for violin, viola, and continuo, Op.6, six sonatas da camera as part of Op. 8, six unpublished trio sonatas Op. 11, and a further six trio sonatas without opus number in a manuscript in Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Musiksammlung (Talbot 2001a).
• William Boyce, 12 Trio Sonatas for two violins and continuo (1747) (Boyce 1747)
• Dieterich Buxtehude, Op. 1, six sonatas, and Op. 2, seven sonatas, scored for violin, viola da gamba and basso continuo. These were the only works by Buxtehude that were published during his lifetime. Though real trio texture does occur from time to time, these are really sonate a due for violin and viola da gamba, with the continuo often being a simplification of the gamba part. There are however four genuine trio sonatas by Buxtehude surviving in manuscript, two for two violins, viola da gamba and continuo in C and G major (BuxWV 266 and 271), one for two violins and continuo in F major (BuxWV 270, fragmentary), and one for viola da gamba, viola, and continuo in D major (BuxWV 267) (Snyder 2001).
• George Frideric Handel, trio sonatas Opp. 2 and 5, all in sonata da chiesa form. The attribution to Handel of a set of trios for two oboes and continuo is false, and the authenticity of the three trios HWV 393, 394, and 395 is doubtful or uncertain. A trio sonata in F for two recorders and continuo, HWV 405, appears to be authentic (Hicks 2001).
• Pietro Antonio Locatelli, six Trio Sonatas, Op. 5, for two violins or two traversos and continuo (1736) (Locatelli 1736)
• Johann Pachelbel, Musikalische Ergötzung ("Musical Delight"), containing six suites for two violins and basso continuo, each commencing with a sonata, followed by a succession of dances. The violin parts use scordatura tuning. The sonatas are of two types. Nos. 1 and 3 are marked Allegro, and are fughettas. The remaining four are Adagio movements and are similar to French overtures, in two sections (Nolte, Butt, and Butler 2001).
• Henry Purcell, Twelve sonatas of three parts, 1683, ten sonatas in four parts, 1697, but both sets are scored for two violins, bass viol, and organ or harpsichord. In terms of style, Purcell's trio sonatas are conservative, modeled on the older generation of Italians (Giovanni Legrenzi, Lelio Colista, and Giovanni Battista Vitali) rather than Corelli or Giovanni Battista Bassani (Holman, Thompson, and Humphreys 2001).
• Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, over 25 extant trio sonatas, including two for solo organ. Others for continuo (sometimes indicated as harpsichord) and diverse combinations of flute(s), violin(s), oboes or unspecified instruments (Stölzel & c.1750; Stölzel & c.1720–50; Stölzel & c.1740; Stölzel & c.1760a; Stölzel & c.1760b Stölzel & c.1770; Stölzel n.d.; Stölzel & c.1700–1799a; Stölzel & c.1700–1799b)
• Georg Philipp Telemann, around 150 trio sonatas (Anon. n.d.). The earliest sonatas exhibit the Corelli style most clearly, while later works anticipate the mid-century Empfindsamkeit and galant styles, or mix Italian, French, and Polish styles (Zohn 2001).
• Antonio Vivaldi, 12 trio sonatas da camera Op. 1, two trio sonatas mixed with solo sonatas in Op. 5, and thirteen unpublished trios. One further trio sonata, RV 80, in G major, for two flutes and continuo, is attributed to Vivaldi but is probably spurious (Talbot 2001c).
• Jan Dismas Zelenka, six sonatas, ZWV 181, composed around 1721–1722 (Zelenka & [1721–22]).
• Carl Phillip Emanuel Bach, a composer of a Trio Sonata, had his world premiere at the New York Public Library in 1923. His version of the Trio Sonata consisted of a flute, viola, and piano.

References

• Anon. n.d. “Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767), Catalogue TWV: 42: Musique de chambre pour 2 instruments avec basse continue”. Musique et Musiciens / Music and Musicians, at Organlive.com (accessed 31 October 2016).(in French)
• Bach, Johann Sebastian (et al.?). 1740–1760. Sonaten. Arr.; vl, vlc, b; C-Dur ("Concerto"; nach BWV 525 und 1032), Ms. Mus. ms. Bach St 345 (olim: Mus. ms. Bach P 914) at Berlin State Library. Bach Digital Source 00002542 – RISM 467234500.
• Boyce, William. 1747. Twelve Sonatas for Two Violins; With a Bass for the Violoncello or Harpsicord. London: John Walsh.
• Werner Breig. 1997. "Ensemble Sonatas", pp. 128–131 in The Cambridge Companion to Bach edited by John Butt. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521587808.
• Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. "Trio Sonata". Encyclopædia Britannica (March 29). Britannica.com. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
• Hicks, Anthony. 2001. "Handel [Händel, Hendel], George Frideric [Georg Friederich]". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
• Hofmann, Klaus. 2006. New Bach Edition, Series VI: Chamber Music, Vol. 5: Various Chamber Music Works, Critical Commentary, p. 98, cited in Bach Digital Work 01718 at Bach Digital website
• Holman, Peter, Robert Thompson, and Mark Humphreys. 2001. "Purcell, § 3: Henry Purcell (ii)". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
• Locatelli, Pietro Antonio. 1736. Sei Sonate à Trè, o Due Violini, o Due Flauti Traversi, è Basso per il Cembalo. Amsterdam: (published by the composer).
• Mangsen, Sandra. 2001. "Trio Sonata". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
• Mattheson, Johann. 1739. Der Vollkommene Capellmeister. Hamburg: Christian Herold.
• Nolte, Ewald V., John Butt, and H. Joseph Butler. 2001. "Pachelbel: (1) Johann Pachelbel [Bachelbel]". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
• Schmieder, Wolfgang, Alfred Dürr, and Yoshitake Kobayashi (eds.). 1998. Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis: Kleine Ausgabe (BWV^2a). Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Härtel. ISBN 978-3765102493.(in German)
• Snyder, Kerala J. 2001. "Buxtehude, Dieterich". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
• Stölzel, Gottfried Heinrich. c.1700–1799a. Sonata 1 (–2) à 3. / Due Flauti traversi. / Con il / Fondamento, Ms. Instr. mus. i hs. 59:11–12 at Uppsala University Library (Carolina Rediviva). RISM 190025778.
• Stölzel, Gottfried Heinrich. c.1700–1799b. Sonata 3 (–4) à 3. / Flauto traverso / Violino / con il / Fondamento. Ms. Instr. mus. i hs. 59:13-14 at Uppsala University Library (Carolina Rediviva). RISM 190025781.
• Stölzel, Gottfried Heinrich. c.1720–50. Sonata / a / Oboe / Violino / con / Cembalo, Ms. Mus.2450-Q-6 (olim: Mus.c.Cx 842, Schrank II/23/7, Rötel 7) at Saxon State and University Library Dresden (Königliche Privat-Musikaliensammlung, Sonatas). RISM 212002969.
• Stölzel, Gottfried Heinrich. c.1740. Zwei Trio-Sonaten, Ms. Am.B 411c at Berlin State Library (Amalien-Bibliothek). RISM 452505437.
• Stölzel, Gottfried Heinrich. c.1750. Sechs, (corrected in pencil): Elf Trio-Sonaten/ in / Partitur / für die Orgel, Ms. Am.B 411a at Berlin State Library (Amalien-Bibliothek). RISM 452505424.
• Stölzel, Gottfried Heinrich. c.1760a. Nro. 50. 51. und 52. / III. / Trio. / Violino. & Fl. Traverso. 1. / Violino. & Fl. Traverso 2. / et / Cembalo. Ms. Am.B 411d at Berlin State Library (Amalien-Bibliothek). RISM 452505440.
• Stölzel, Gottfried Heinrich. c.1760b. Two Sonatas for violin, flute, and continuo, Ms. Am.B 500 at Berlin State Library (Amalien-Bibliothek). RISM 452506216.
• Stölzel, Gottfried Heinrich. ca.1770. Trio / dal / Sigre / Stoel / zel. Ms. Am.B 469 at Berlin State Library (Amalien-Bibliothek). RISM 452505898.
• Stölzel, Gottfried Heinrich. n.d. Sonata a tre for two violins and continuo, Ms. XXXIV B 342 at Národní muzeum, Prague (České muzeum hudby, hudebně-historické oddělení). RISM 550041276.
• Talbot, Michael. 2001a. "Albinoni, Tomaso Giovanni [Zuane]". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
• Talbot, Michael. 2001b. "Corelli, Arcangelo". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
• Talbot, Michael. 2001c. "Vivaldi, Antonio (Lucio)". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
• Zelenka, Jan Dismas (autograph). [1721–22]. 6 Sonatas, Ms. Mus.2358-Q-1 at Saxon State and University Library Dresden (Königliche Privat-Musikaliensammlung). RISM 211010356.
• Zohn, Steven. 2001. "Telemann, Georg Philipp, § 8: Instrumental Music". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.

Further reading

• Allsop, Peter. 1992. The Italian "Trio" Sonata: From Its Origins until Corelli. Oxford Monographs on Music. Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-816229-4.
• Apel, Willi. 1990. Italian Violin Music of the Seventeenth Century, edited by Thomas Binkley. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-30683-3.
• Defant, Christine. 1985. Kammermusik und Stylus phantasticus: Studien zu Dietrich Buxtehudes Triosonaten. Europäische Hochschulschriften / European University Studies / Études Universitaires Européennes. Frankfurt: Peter Lang. ISBN 9783820485141.
• Hogwood, Christopher. 1979. The Trio Sonata. BBC Music Guides. London: British Broadcasting Corporation. ISBN 0-563-17095-6.
• Kamien, Roger. 2008. Music an Appreciation, sixth brief edition. Boston: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0073326375 (annotated instructor's edition); ISBN 9780073265452 (student edition)
• Schenk, Erich. 2005. Die Triosonate. Das Musikwerk, eine Beispielsammlung zur Musikgeschichte, Neuausgabe 20. Laaber: Laaber Verlag. ISBN 3-89007-623-8.

[[Category:Sonatas]]
[[Category:Musical form]]