Sonata in d for two violins

In the Festival’s Chamber Music Concert II, we noted the relative newness of unaccompanied solo and duo sonatas around the time Jean-Marie Leclair published his two-violin sonatas senza basso continuo, opus 3, in 1730. Tonight we have another chance to hear such a work, Telemann’s Sonata in D Minor for Two Violins (or Flutes). The sonata contains three movements, each a strict canon at the unison. As such, it offers a kind of miniature meditation on canonic composition techniques. It is because of the limitations imposed by canon, ironically, that composers like Telemann could dash off these pieces between cups of warm tea. Once the basic principles are mastered—and these include understanding how a theme may stress the key’s main pitches, and which consonances will enable the canon to work harmoniously—once these skills are learned, the outline is fixed and the remainder threatens to write itself. The same, in fact, may be said of the solo concerto form in the hands of Vivaldi. In Vivaldi’s Flute Concerto in G Major, op. 10 no. 4, the alternations of tutti and solo passages are fairly predictable, and the tonal functions of both forces are also well-defined. The composer’s challenge is to flesh out a rigid skeleton with colorful melody, ornament, an occasional passing dissonance, and rhythmic vigor. You may judge for yourself how well Telemann and Vivaldi have met that challenge.

(c) Jason Stell