Sonata

A sonata is a instrumental composition of Classical music: it is more precisely, one of the most important forms of the Chamber music.

History

At the beginning, the word indicates “ a music which sounds ” (in Italian, sonata , suonata , sonnare ). The music opposed to the sonata was the Cantate (of Italian, cantare = to sing). The first sonatas appeared towards 1580 of Giovanni Croce and Andrea Gabrieli. Of this last, the “Sonata has 5 instromenti” (1586), is lost today. Since then, of very many Compositeur S wrote innumerable sonatas for all the conceivable instruments of their time.

  • the sonata was worked out in a progressive way: at the beginning, it is distinguished little from others kinds, such as the Partita, the Canzone or the continuation. It has two alternatives however: the “ Sonata da chiesa ” or sonata of church, and the “ Sonata da camera ” or sonata of room.

  • It is at the time of Corelli that the “sonata form” is fixed: its success will be the cause of the decline of the continuation and, later, adapted to the Orchestre and taking greater proportions, it will give rise to the Symphonie.

Aspects of the sonata

The sonata can be made up for one or more instruments.

Time baroque

  • the Sonata da chiesa is a sonata of church. It generally has four movements: “ serious, quickly, slow, quickly ”.

  • the Sonata da camera is a profane sonata. It is generally composed of a prelude followed several movements of dance (interesting denomination at Torelli: “ Intrada, Ballo: Allemande, Ballo: Gavotte ”). It is, in fact, a continuation.
  • Même the introductions of the Cantate S were short sonatas. Sometimes only some measurements, but in the great cantatas of Bach one often finds introductions named “ sinfonia ” with one or two instruments Soliste S.
  • Même at the XVIIIe century, the term “sonata” is not univocal: the sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti comprise one movement; other type-setters compose of the sonatas which have only the name of it, according to the current meaning (Soler, Seixas, della Ciaja, Arne, Paradisi, etc….)

Gallant style with the romanticism

  • After 1730 one notes the disappearance of the two types to the profit of one only type of sonata. The plan is often: “  allegro, adagio, minuet, rondo   ”.

  • In the traditional sonata and romantic, one often finds three movements: “  fast movement, slow movement, fast movement called “final”   ”.

Sonatas for instrument alone

Violin
  • Sonatas and Partitas BWV 1001 to 1006 of Bach
  • Six sonatas of Ysaÿe
Harpsichord
  • Scarlatti: 555 sonatas (in a movement of binary format)
Piano
  • Mozart: 16 sonatas
  • Beethoven: 32 sonatas, among which the Pathetic one (n° 8), Moonlight (n° 14), the Pastoral one (n° 15), the Storm (n° 17), the Waldstein (n° 21), Appassionata (n° 23), the Good-byes (n° 26), Hammerklavier (n° 29). Last sonatas COp 109,110 and especially the COp 111 appear among the references of the kind.
  • Schubert : 19 sonatas
  • Brahms: 3 sonatas
  • Chopin: 3 sonatas
  • Liszt: 1 only sonata, the sonata in so minor
… and many other type-setters: Alkan, Field…

Some sonatas to be listened

Through the times

  • Sonatas for violin and B.C COp 5 of Corelli.
  • Sonatas for violin and Harpsichord of Bach.
  • Sonatas for piano and sonatas for piano and violin of Mozart.
  • 32 sonatas for piano of Beethoven
  • Sonata for violin and piano of Johannes Brahms.
  • Sonata in so minor of Franz Liszt.
  • Sonata " arpeggione" of Schubert.
  • Sonata for violoncello and piano, Rachmaninov.
  • Sonata for violoncello and piano as a semi minor n°1, Brahms.
  • Sonata for flute and piano, F. Poulenc.
  • Sonata to three for violoncello and BC, Vivaldi.

Difference between the sonata form and the structure sonata

The word sonata also indicates a musical Structure particular - more precisely called Structure sonata - primarily used with the XVIII {{E}} and XIX {{E}} centuries.

  • It can have there coincidence between the structure and the form, when a movement of sonata (the “ form ”) takes indeed the structure “'' sonata ''”, but it is not always the case.

For example, such or such movement of sonata can not adopt the structure “ sonata ”: it can be the case of the slow movement, of which the structure is often A-B-A ; but also, the case of the final , of which the most frequent structure is that of the Rondo ( A-B-A-C-A-D ), etc Inversement, the Structure sonata can be used in forms other than the sonata form: Symphony, opening, Concerto…

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