8 - The sonata

Summary

Introduction

The cello sonata forged three avenues of development in the eighteenth century. The late seventeenth-century form, for cello and continuo, involving a cello as the principal melodist, persisted well into the third quarter of the eighteenth century. Harmonic support in the form of semi-improvised chords or the realisation of a prescribed figured bass was provided by a keyboard instrument (normally an organ or harpsichord), which could be joined or replaced by a plucked instrument (chitarrone or archlute); in addition, the bass line could be sustained, normally by another cello or, possibly, a gamba. The nomenclature for such works ranged from ‘sonata’ to ‘sinfonia’, ‘solo’, ‘trattenimento’, ‘divertimento’, ‘concertino’ and other such terms.

The sonata's second avenue of development, the so-called ‘accompanied sonata’, involved the cellist in a subordinate role to an obbligato keyboard. This type, which challenged the dominance of the sonata with continuo and eventually superseded it, began and ended essentially with the early sonatas of Beethoven and his contemporaries, giving way to the third avenue, the true duo sonata for two equal protagonists.

The Baroque

The cello sonata evolved first in northern Italy towards the end of the seventeenth century. Two different types emerged: the sonata da camera (‘chamber sonata’), which is essentially a suite of stylised dances; and the sonata da chiesa (‘church sonata’), the movements of which have no dance allegiances.