Trio sonatas for organ (Bach)

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Six trio sonatas for organ ( BWV 525 - BWV 530) by Johann Sebastian Bach stand at the beginning of a composite manuscript with organ music created by the composer in 1727. Later her Bach added the “ Eighteen Chants ” and the Canonical Changes to Vom Himmel Hoch . The word “trio sonata” here means that the two manuals and the pedal are performed independently and purely in unison, which is a considerable task in terms of composition. Bach did not use a common title, the individual sonatas are each entitled “Sonata à 2 Clav. e Pedal di JS Bach “.

Emergence

The trio sonatas were composed between 1727 and 1732; According to the Bach biographer Johann Nikolaus Forkel , Bach wrote them as teaching material for his eldest son Wilhelm Friedemann Bach . Since one movement of the fourth sonata has also been preserved independently as an instrumental trio, it has been assumed that several of the works may initially have been composed for chamber music ; since in all other cases no evaluable sources are available, this thesis can neither be proven nor refuted.

style

In their contrapuntal structure with frequent fugues and the renunciation of clearly dance-oriented movements, the six sonatas follow the tradition of the Sonata da chiesa , but are not in four, but only three movements. Not only this, but also many stylistic details illustrate the influence of the Italian concert form, for example the pronounced ritornello of Sonata 6; a work that is very similar in style and structure is the viol sonata in G minor .

The individual sonatas

Sonata 1 in E flat major, BWV 525

BWV 525, topics of the three movements
sentences
  • alla breve E flat major
  • Adagio 12/8 in C minor
  • Allegro 3/4 in E flat major

According to current research, the composition is based on an original trio in F major, probably for recorder, oboe and continuo.

Sonata 2 in C minor, BWV 526

sentences
  • Vivace in alla breveC minor
  • Largo 3/4 in E flat major
  • Allegro in alla breveC minor

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart arranged the second and third movements of this sonata for string trio .

Sonata 3 in D minor, BWV 527

sentences
  • Andante 2/4 in D minor
  • Adagio e dolce 6/8 in F major
  • Vivace 3/8 in D minor

Bach later used the slow movement as the middle movement for his Triple Concerto (BWV 1044) and added a fourth part. Independently of this, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart later arranged the same movement for string trio.

Sonata 4 in E minor, BWV 528

sentences
  • Adagio 4/4 time- Vivace 3/4 in E minor
  • Andante in 4/4 timeB minor
  • Un poco Allegro 3/8 in E minor

Bach already used the first movement, consisting of a slow introduction and fugue, in the church cantata Die Himmel Tell die Ehre Gottes (BWV 76) - as a trio for oboe d'amore , viola da gamba and continuo . Today it is largely assumed that the entire work goes back to an instrumental sonata of this instrumentation - this would be one of the few chamber music works from Bach's Weimar years that can be reconstructed

Web links

Sonata 5 in C major, BWV 529

sentences
  • Allegro 3/4 in C major
  • Largo 6/8 in A minor
  • Allegro 2/4 in C major

An early version of the middle movement appears in Bach's Weimar final version of Prelude and Fugue BWV 545 as a middle movement.

Sonata 6 in G major, BWV 530

sentences
  • Vivace 2/4 in G major
  • Lento 6/8 in E minor
  • Allegro in alla breveG major

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Wolfgang Schmieder : Thematic-systematic directory of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach . Wiesbaden 1969.
  2. ^ Christoph Wolff : Johann Sebastian Bach. 2nd edition, S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, ISBN 978-3-596-16739-5 .
  3. ^ Klaus Hofmann : A lost chamber music work by Johann Sebastian Bach. In: Bach Yearbook 2000 .
  4. ↑ Peter Dirksen: A missing Weimar chamber music work by Johann Sebastian Bach? On the prehistory of the Sonata in E minor for organ (BWV 528). In: Bach Yearbook 2003.
  5. ^ Trio in A minor (early version of: Sonata in C major, 2nd movement) BWV 529/2 early version. Bach digital .

Web links