Church trio

The church trio, or especially the Viennese church trio, is a form of instrumentation that was used in church music from the late Baroque to the Viennese Classic .

The line-up corresponds to that of the trio sonata . It consists usually of two equivalent Violins (or other melodic instruments ) and a bass group , in turn, from the organ and the bass line colla parte mitspielendem Cello and / or bass (sometimes bassoon is). The term “ trio ” does not refer to the absolute number of instruments playing, but to the number of voices . The absence of the viola is characteristic of the full string line-up of a string quartet or a modern orchestra .

Examples of works with a church trio

• Joseph Haydn: Missa brevis in F major Hob. XXII: 1
• Joseph Haydn: Missa Rorate coeli desuper Hob. XXII: 3
• Joseph Haydn: Small Organ Solo Mass Hob. XXII: 7

Church trio expanded by further instruments (mostly wind instruments):

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Litaniae Lauretanae BMV KV 109
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Trinity Mass KV 167
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Sparrow Mass KV 220
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Mass in C major KV 257
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Missa brevis in C major KV 258
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Missa brevis in C major KV 259
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Coronation Mass KV 317
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Vesperae solennes de Dominica KV 321
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Mass in C major KV 337
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Vesperae solennes de Confessore KV 339
• Franz Schubert: Mass No. 2 in G major, D 167

literature

• Rudolf Flotzinger : Church Trio. In: Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon . Online edition, Vienna 2002 ff., ISBN 3-7001-3077-5 ; Print edition: Volume 2, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 2003, ISBN 3-7001-3044-9 .