- Sonata da camera
-
Sonata da camera is literally translated to mean 'chamber sonata' and is used to describe a group of instrumental pieces set into three or four different movements, beginning with a prelude, or small sonata, acting as an introduction for the following movements.
The term sonata da camera originated from Rome in the late 17th century from when Arcangelo Corelli was composing two different variations of sonata. These became known as sonata da camera and sonata da chiesa. Richard Taruskin describes sonata da camera very well in his 'Oxford History of Western Music'; sonata da camera "… was essentially a dance suite, which Corelli adapted to the prevailing four-movement format (a "preludio" and three dances or connecting movements). The following "dance" style movements were usually given names referring to the style, e.g., partita, suite, ordre, ouverture and air (as in English reprints of Corelli's chamber sonatas). The most frequent instrumentation in sonata da camera was two violins and a bass. Most harmonies were completed in the bass part whilst the two treble instruments played above. This was also known as a trio sonata, as this consisted of three major parts. But sometimes, a fourth player (usually a cellist) was required to double on the basso continuo line.
[material deleted due to copyright infringement; plagiarized from the New Grove Dictionary of Music]
This article related to classical music is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
