Trio Sonata in G (BWV 1038)
Largo
Vivace
Adagio
Presto
Bach’s chamber music, like Purcell’s, forms a very small proportion of his huge output, and, even more than Handel’s, has suffered from a tendency to fall into the cracks of musical history. This sonata may have been written during Bach’s period as Court Organist at Weimar (1708-17), or in 1720 while he was serving Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen - or it may have been written by one of his sons or pupils. All that is certain is that it shares a bass line with his G major violin sonata (BWV 1021) of 1714-17, and, whether or not by Bach, is an excellent example of how the Trio Sonata as a form grows from its bass – to the extent that one bass-line of sufficient quality could become the foundation of two wholly different and equally fine sonatas.
R.G.Bratby 2002
Copyright Classical Notes.co.uk 2000
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