Following on from my exploration of Italian recorder sonatas earlier this year, we’re expanding our horizons today to the Baroque Trio Sonata. All of them feature the recorder, but I’ve opened up my research to include other instruments too, so you’ll have the pleasure of enjoying many different musical colours.
What is a trio sonata?
Before I share my favourite pieces from this genre of chamber music, let’s explore the basic concept of a trio sonata…
The form originated in the early 17th century as a sonata for two instruments and basso continuo, often in several movements, and remained popular throughout the Baroque era. Not content with following the popular pattern, Bach also used the term for a series of organ pieces where all three lines are played by one musician on two organ manuals and pedals. Having recently arranged one of these for two recorders and continuo, the very idea of one human playing three such complex lines at once is simply mind boggling!
Returning to the standard trio sonata format, from the name you’d expect them to be played by three musicians, wouldn’t you? But counterintuitively this isn’t generally the case. Yes, a trio sonata encompasses three melodic lines, but they’re normally played by at least four musicians. Take a look at this extract from a Telemann Trio Sonata (one we’ll encounter again later):
There are three melodic lines - two for recorder, flute or violin (offering a piece of music for multiple instruments was common in the Baroque and a cunning way to sell more copies) and a third for an instrument in bass clef. This bass line would be performed by the continuo team of at least two musicians. The first would be a sustaining instrument - normally a cello or viola da gamba, but there’s no reason why you couldn’t use a wind instrument such as a bassoon.
Now look a few bars into the piece and you’ll see some numbers above the bass line. These are called figured bass and are intended for a harmonic instrument - usually some sort of keyboard, such as a harpsichord, spinet or organ. These figures tell the keyboard player which chords to play above the bassline to complete the harmony. Beyond the actual harmonies, the keyboard player has total freedom - they can play chords of just two or three notes, or create something more dramatic or melodic from them.
This short extract from a modern edition of a Handel Trio Sonata includes an extra stave above the bass line. Here the editor has created a suggested realisation of the figured bass. This is useful for keyboard players who can’t interpret figured bass on the spot, but there’s no reason why a performer has to stick rigidly to these exact notes.
As you’ll see and hear in some of the recordings I’ve selected, it’s entirely possible to expand the continuo team further still, with plucked string instruments, such as a lute, guitar or theorbo (a deeper member of the lute family), adding even more colour and texture to the performance.
Now let’s explore some of my favourite trio sonatas featuring the recorder. I’ve spent a long time seeking out some beautiful performances of these works, which I hope you’ll enjoy. Where possible I’ve also included a link to CDs including these performances (many of them are available via streaming services too), along with links to a playlist of the complete album on YouTube where it’s available. I’ve included a link to the IMSLP page for each sonata too, so you can play them if you wish to. There are usually several editions to choose from for each sonata, including facsimiles of the original 18th century publications for some of them, giving you a glimpse of the composer’s original intentions.
George Frideric Handel - Sonata in F major
Baroque Trio Sonatas performed by Opus 4 Paula Records PACD64
Baroque Trio Sonatas complete playlist
Play the Handel Trio Sonata in F with my Trio ‘minus one’ consort video
Handel wrote six wonderful solo sonatas for the recorder, composed after his move to London, and these are familiar to most recorder players. This charming trio sonata comes from earlier in his career, while he was still living in Italy, and is the only one he composed for two recorders.
Handel was a great recycler of good musical Iines and you may well experience a sense of déjà vu listening to the third movement of the sonata. As you can see below, the opening arpeggio patterns (and the harmonies too) are replicated almost exactly in his fourth recorder sonata, also in F major. But in this later solo sonata he uses them more concisely - no doubt with the benefit of several more years of composing experience.
Trio Sonata in F
Solo Sonata in F
Georg Philipp Telemann - Sonata in C major
Telemann Chamber Music performed by Passacaglia Barn Cottage Records
Telemann Chamber Music complete playlist
Play the Telemann Trio Sonata in C with my Trio ‘minus one’ consort video
Telemann was a talented multi-instrumentalist, playing the recorder, flute, oboe, violin, viola da gamba, double bass and more instruments besides. He had a natural instinct when composing for the recorder and his music is justly beloved by those of us who play the instrument. This Trio Sonata is one of his finest, often affectionately known as ‘The Girlfriends’ on account of the movement names.
Telemann composed four trio sonatas for two recorders but this is undoubtedly the most imaginative. In it he depicts notable women from history through music, from Xantippe, the nagging wife of Socrates, to Clelia, a Roman woman who swam the River Tiber to escape captivity, and Dido, Queen of Carthage. In common with Telemann’s other recorder music, this sonata lies beautifully under the fingers (as you’d expect from someone who evidently played the instrument so well) and it’s a joy to play this exceptional music.
Henry Purcell - Three Parts Upon a Ground
Live performance by Mélanie Flahaut, Jean-François Novelli et Jean Tubéry (recorders), François Joubert-Caillet (viola da gamba), Matthias Spaeter (theorbo) & Philippe Grisvard (harpsichord)
This is the only work I’ve chosen which wasn’t originally composed for the recorder. Technically this piece for three violins and continuo isn’t a trio sonata, as it’s just a single movement, but the music is so fantastic I couldn’t in all conscience omit it from my list. Originally written in D major, it works very well on recorders when transposed a minor third higher into F major, and this recording is just fabulous.
The entire piece is based upon this repeating six note ground bass:
Unlike many works written around a ground bass, Purcell allows the continuo team to stray from this to become equal melodic partners from time to time. He also changes the time signature time mid-flow, from compound to simple time and back again - another unusual characteristic compared to most pieces of this type. This time change is followed by a section where the third recorder part pairs up with the bassline in canon, while the upper two voices play an entirely different canon against them. Before a final, energetic dash for the finishing line the continuo team strike up their own melodic line, while the recorder parts play the original ground bass - truly turning things upside down!
Daniel Purcell - Sonata in G minor
A Noble Entertainment - Music from Queen Anne’s London performed by The Parnassian Ensemble. Avie AV2094
A Noble Entertainment complete playlist
Daniel Purcell tends to be hidden in the shadow of Henry, who was either his older brother or maybe a cousin. Perhaps that shouldn’t be the case as he wrote some great music which is sadly neglected today. Having joined the choir of the Chapel Royal at the age of 14, Daniel spent time as organist at Magdalen College, Oxford before returning to London to work in the theatre, where he composed incidental music for over forty plays.
London had a thriving music scene in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, with composers arriving from all over Europe to live and work here. If you’re interested in exploring this musical melting pot do listen to the complete album (playlist link above) as it includes music from many composers who may be unfamiliar to you.
Johann Friedrich Fasch - Sonata in G major for flute & two recorders
Live performance by Yu Ma (flute), Yi-Chang Liang & Zeng Yixing (recorders), Chia-Hua Chiang (cello), Asako Ueda (guitar) & Machiko Suto (harpsichord)
Here we expand the concept of a trio sonata, adding a flute to two recorders to create a quartet sonata. In this work Fasch mostly pairs the recorders, using them to complement the flute line, both in tone colour and texture. Fasch was a German violinist and composer, well respected and performed widely in his day but little known today - Telemann performed a cycle of his church cantatas in Hamburg in 1733 and Bach arranged one of his trio sonatas for organ. I talked earlier about the flexibility of the basso continuo team and this performance is a good example. As well as cello and harpsichord, a baroque guitar has been added to expand and add variety to the texture.
Johann Joachim Quantz - Sonata in C major
Quantz: Musique de Chambre à la Cour de Dresde performed by Ensemble Baroque le Rondeau & Jean-Pierre Boullet Syrius SYR 141335
Quantz Chamber Music complete playlist
It was quite unusual at this time to write music for recorder and flute together, but as the previous sonata demonstrated, not totally unheard of. Quantz was an important character in the late Baroque, working as a composer, performer, and flute maker at the court of Frederick the Great. We know he taught the flute to the monarch so perhaps he composed this sonata to play with his pupil?
Quantz’s working life straddles the transition between the Baroque and Classical periods and his music is known to have been admired by Bach, Haydn and Mozart. You can hear the subtle evolution of musical style, especially in this Larghetto, where he effortlessly creates long, expressive musical lines. In this recording the continuo team brings a lighter touch, swapping cello and harpsichord for bassoon and lute - a beautiful but unusual combination.
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach - Sonata in F for bass recorder and viola
Rococo performed by Dorothee Oberlinger & Ensemble 1700 Deutsche HM 88875134062
If you think of the bass recorder as being the lowest instrument of a recorder quartet, often saddled with dull, repetitive music, think again! In this sonata it features as an equal with the viola, with musical lines every bit as challenging as those we play on smaller recorders. Carl Philipp Emanuel was the fifth son of JS Bach, born in 1714. The latest of the composers I’m featuring today, he began writing at a time when music was transitioning to the more expressive and turbulent style of the Classical period - clearly evident in this trio sonata.
The combination of bass recorder and viola is a curious but beautiful one - soulful and mellow. It requires a sensitive continuo team to allow the subtle melodic lines to sing, but Dorothee Oberlinger and Ensemble 1700 bring so much character to this performance and it’s a joyful experience for one’s ears!
Antonio Vivaldi - Sonata in A minor RV86 recorder and bassoon
Vivaldi: Gods, Emperors and Angels performed by Sara Deborah Struntz (violin), Pamela Thorby (recorder), Peter Whelan (bassoon), La Serenissima, Adrian Chandler (violin/director) Avie AV2201
Vivaldi : Gods, Emperors and Angels complete playlist
We’re perhaps most familiar with Vivaldi as a composer of concertos (literally hundreds of them, including a number for recorder) but he wrote many different genres of music, including a number of trio sonatas. This example for recorder and bassoon is an astonishing work, demanding huge virtuosity from both players. The bassoon and recorder are equal partners, but each has a distinct character. The recorder often has singing, melodic lines, while Vivaldi exploits the bassoon’s more percussive articulation to create some sparkling and, at times, explosive contrasts. Having played the baroque bassoon (albeit it in a pretty average way) for a number of years I’m in awe of the way Peter Whelan negotiates this incredibly difficult music. In this Largo he provides an arpeggiated moto perpetuo counterpoint to Pamela Thorby’s beautifully ornamented and lyrical melodic line. Do explore the whole sonata (playlist linked above) and you’ll be equally astonished by the other movements!
Georg Philipp Telemann - Quartet in D minor from Tafelmusik
Telemann: Tafelmusik, performed by Florilegium & Walter van Hauwe Channel CCS19198
Telemann Tafelmusik complete playlist
I finish today with perhaps one of the finest pieces of this type - another larger scale composition. Telemann published his collection Tafelmusik in 1733 - one of the last examples of this genre of music. Tafelmusik was initially published under the title of Musique de table (table music) and such collections were intended as an accompaniment for formal dinners at weddings and other events. Publishing it cost an exorbitant amount, so to offset the expense Telemann found more than 200 people who were willing to help fund it in advance. In return their names, addresses and social status were included in the first edition. Both Handel and Quantz were among these initial subscribers.
The music itself is very varied, opening with an overture for orchestra, followed by solo and trio sonatas, a concerto and this quartet. In a mirror image of the Fasch Sonata we heard earlier, Telemann chooses to use a solo recorder (this part can also be played on bassoon) with two flutes. The music may have been conceived as a diversion for an audience whose focus would perhaps have been less than 100%, but it’s far from trivial, conjuring up a host of colours, textures and characters. In this movement alone the music veers between a boisterous Allegro and music of a more lilting nature, making effective use of the tonal differences between the recorder and flutes. I encourage you to listen to the whole collection (see above for link to complete playlist) - it really is a musical tour de force!
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If you’ve never explored the Trio Sonata genre before I hope my recommendations have opened your eyes to fresh musical horizons. But if you’re already an aficionado of this delightful chamber music perhaps you’ve discovered something unfamiliar to expand your repertoire? Do remember, if you want to try playing this repertoire with friends you don’t necessarily need a tame cellist or harpsichordist. Many of the bass lines will fit on a bass recorder (with just the odd low note shifted an octave higher) and even playing just the three melodic lines will give you a taster of their musical charm. There’s also no reason why you shouldn’t offer the score to a sensitive pianist and they can give the editor’s continuo realisation a whirl. Incidentally, if you use Apple Music, I’ve created a playlist there containing many of these recordings which you can find here.
If I’ve omitted your favourite trio sonata from my list why not tell us about it in the comments below, perhaps linking to your favourite recording of the work? This is a rich and varied repertoire and I’d love us to explore it further together as a community!