Buxtehude: Trio Sonatas Op.1 & 2

Dietrich Buxtehude (c. 1637–1707) was a prominent German-Danish composer and organist of the Baroque period, renowned for his influence on later composers such as J.S. Bach and Handel. Best known for his sacred vocal music and virtuosic organ works, Buxtehude also wrote a substantial body of chamber music.

Composer: Dietrich Buxtehude
Artists: Valerio Losito (violin), Bettina Hoffmann (viola da gamba), Simone Stella (harpsichord)

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The key to Buxtehude’s trio sonatas, both for performers and for listeners, is an awareness of the stylus fantasticus which German composers of the late 17th and early 18th centuries developed in response to the new freely inventive style of Italian composers such as Claudio Merulo and Girolamo Frescobaldi. ‘It is the most free and unrestrained method of composing,’ wrote one contemporary theorist. ‘It is bound to nothing, neither to any words nor to a melodic subject, instituted to display genius and to teach the hidden design of harmony and the ingenious composition of harmonic phrases and fugues.’

The seven sonatas in each of these collections, published in Hamburg in 1696, offer a continuous succession of short movements, up to eight per sonata, which alternate between slow and fast tempi, and improvisatory and contrapuntal textures, dominated by a dazzling array of ostinato variations which embed the melodies in the listener’s consciousness. We encounter witty solos, dialogues and conversations, sublime suspensions, jaunty syncopations and occasional excursions into strange and modal harmony. The expressive range is accordingly wide, venturing in Op.1 No.6 into a D minor realm of darkness and desperation.

The musicians on this new recording of Buxtehude’s trio sonatas are experienced and skilful practitioners of Baroque style, with an impressive catalogue of albums on Brilliant Classics to their credit. Valerio Losito has recorded the violin sonatas of Scarlatti, Telemann and Tessarini, among others, while Simone Stella has made complete surveys of the organ and harpsichord output by Froberger and Pachelbel – ‘performed with natural flair, especially with respect to clarifying counterpoint’ (Gramophone).

Tracklist:
Trio Sonata Op. 1 No. 1 in F Major, BuxWV 252:
00:00:00 I. Vivace – Lento
00:02:25 II. Allegro – Adagio
00:05:32 III. Andante
00:07:24 IV. Grave – Presto

Sonata Op. 1 No. 2 in G Major, BuxWV 253:
00:10:17 I. Lento – Vivace
00:13:42 II. Adagio – Allegro
00:15:17 III. Largo – Arioso

Trio Sonata Op. 1 No. 3 in A Minor, BuxWV 254:
00:18:25 I. Adagio
00:20:36 II. Allegro
00:22:31 III. Lento – Vivace
00:26:05 IV. Largo – Presto – Adagio

Trio Sonata Op. 1 No. 4 in B-Flat Major, BuxWV 255:
00:29:21 I. Vivace – Allegro
00:34:32 II. Lento – Allegro

Trio Sonata Op. 1 No. 5 in C Major, BuxWV 256:
00:38:09 I. Vivace
00:39:47 II. Violino solo – Allegro
00:42:04 III. Largo – Allegro
00:44:58 IV. Adagio – Allegro

Trio Sonata Op. 1 No. 6 in D Minor, BuxWV 257:
00:47:50 I. Grave – Allegro
00:50:27 II. Con discretione – Adagio (con discretione) – Adagio
00:53:24 III. Vivace – (con discretione) Adagio
00:55:16 IV. Poco presto – Poco Adagio – Presto – Lento

Trio Sonata Op. 1 No. 7 in E Minor, BuxWV 258:
00:58:17 I. Allegro – Largo
01:00:57 II. Presto – Vivace – Adagio
01:03:10 III. Poco Presto – Lento – Prestissimo

Trio Sonata Op. 2 No. 1 in B-Flat Major, BuxWV 259:
01:05:16 I. Allegro
01:06:33 II. Adagio – Allegro
01:09:03 III. Grave
01:11:02 IV. Vivace – Lento
01:12:23 V. Poco adagio – Presto

Trio Sonata Op. 2 No. 2 in D Major, BuxWV 260:
01:14:32 I. Adagio – Allegro – Largo
01:18:24 II. Arietta, Parte I-X
01:25:26 III. Largo – Vivace

Trio Sonata Op. 2 No. 3 in G Minor, BuxWV 261:
01:27:49 I. Vivace – Lento
01:30:48 II. Allegro – Lento
01:32:20 III. Andante
01:36:39 IV. Grave – Gigue

Trio Sonata Op. 2 No. 4 in C Minor, BuxWV 262:
01:40:10 I. Poco adagio
01:41:40 II. Allegro – Lento
01:44:04 IV. 3/4 – Vivace

Trio Sonata Op. 2 No. 5 in A Major, BuxWV 263:
01:44:04 I. Allegro
01:49:56 II. Violino solo – Concitato
01:53:31 III. Adagio
01:54:46 IV. Allegro – Adagio
01:56:23 V. 6/4 – Poco presto

Trio Sonata Op. 2 No. 6 in E Major, BuxWV 264:
01:59:03 I. Grave – Vivace
02:02:30 II. Adagio – Poco presto – Lento
02:06:29 III. Allegro

Trio Sonata Op. 2 No. 7 in F Major, BuxWV 265:
02:08:23 I. Adagio – 4/4
02:11:56 II. Lento – Vivace
02:14:44 III. Largo – Allegro