“This extraordinary collection of Trio Sonatas demonstrates all that can be created from two voices and a bass. The Trio Sonata is Italian in essence (composers like Corelli were key to developing its form), but Bach transformed the genre into an exaltation of the imagination in the field of instrumental music.”
Leonardo García Alarcón
The Six Trio Sonatas BWV 525-530 are Johann Sebastian Bach’s most emblematic works for solo organ. He used the organ to explore a genre that had previously been reserved for chamber music. There are other examples of organ trios by François Couperin (1668-1733) and Nicolas de Grigny (1672-1703) in France and Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706) in Germany. However, none of these compositions can match the dimension, quality and diversity of Bach’s six trios. In chamber music, the trio sonata is a genre in which three voices engage in dialogue. Contrary to what its name suggests, it is almost never played by three performers. Often, it combines two upper voices (violin, flute, etc.) with a basso continuo part played by a harpsichordist and a bass bow (cello or bass viola da gamba). For example, this is the formation that Bach uses in his Trio Sonata from The Musical Offering, BWV 1079. When a trio sonata is played on the organ, the organist’s hands are placed on two independent manuals, while the feet play the bass part. There is only one musician, and no additional voices or chords are needed. While this may be the purest form of the trio sonata, we can rediscover these pieces from a new perspective through chamber music.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Trio Sonatas, BWV 525-530
Transcription for two harpsichords, viola de gamba and archlute.
Jacopo Raffaele, harpsichord
Teodoro Bau, Viola de gamba
Monica Pusltinik, Lute
Leonardo García Alarcón, Direction, harpsichord
Cappella Mediterranea
20h30
Église De Montmin
Montmin - Massif Des Bauge