Sonata for 2 violins & continuo in C major (by J. G. Goldberg, not JSB), BWV 1037 The authorship of this sonata is uncertain; it may indeed be an early work of J.S. Bach, but it also may be the work of Bachs pupil, Johann Gottlieb Goldberg (of Goldberg Variations fame). Stylistically, the sonata seems a bit early for Goldberg, whose music was more akin to the works of Bachs sons, but if he did write it, he probably did so around 1745. If it is authentic to Bach, it is most likely from the composers time in Cöthen between 1717 and 1723. Regardless of its creator, the sonata follows the Italian church sonata format -- four movements alternating in slow-fast-slow-fast tempos. The final movement gigue is another sign of Italian infuence. The opening Adagio begins with a tense, long-held violin note that soon relaxes into a more florid line in the manner of Corellis trio sonatas, or Bachs famous Air on the G String. The second violin initially plays a supporting harmonic role, but by the halfway mark it engages the first violin in imitative counterpoint. The second movement, Alla breve, takes as its main theme four notes in chromatic descent: C, B, B flat, and A. This is a rearrangement of Bachs own musical motif derived from the spelling of his name (the B flat standing in for H). The violins spend the movement elaborating on these notes over a turbulent rhythm and bass line. Far more austere is the short Largo, with its Corellian atmosphere and the violins imitating one another at some distance. Spirits rise with the Gigue, in which the violins interplay centers around repetitions of a joyful ascending figure. youtube/watch?v=_49w-zvM5eo
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 14:25:27 +0000
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