Sonata in Imitation of Birds

Program Note:

Like Johann Michael Bach in 17th-century Germany, someone with the redundant name William Williams falls victim to easy misidentification. Music’s William Williams (ca. 1677-1704)—not to be confused with Connecticut’s signer of the Declaration of Independence or the American poet whose intervening Carlos adds uniqueness—lived in England during the “Glorious Revolution” and died during the reign of Queen Anne. Hardly anything more is known about him, apart from the fact that he wrote a Sonata for winds and continuo “In Imitation of Birds.” Williams’ Sonata is in the traditional four movements of a sonata da chiesa. The piece starts with bird calls in a slow tempo, followed by a fast imitative section that still gets hung up on twitterings. A short Adagio leads by open-ended cadence into the buoyant finale. Tight harmony between the two solo flutes provides the avian connotation throughout, but such charming conceits hardly convey all the grace and polish that Williams achieves.

(c) Jason Stell