Classical Music | Music for Flute

Recorded on 06/26/2007, uploaded on 01/20/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Sonata in E Major for Flute and Basso Continuo, BWV 1035     Johann Sebastian Bach

The Sonata in E major for Flute and Basso Continuo was composed in 1741 just prior to a trip the elder Bach made to Potsdam to visit his son Carl Philipp Emanuel who had taken the position of harpsichordist to the Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia, also a flutist and later Frederick the Great. Like the E minor and C major sonatas before it, it is written with a basso continuo accompaniment in place of an obbligato keyboard part.  Typically, the basso continuo is performed by a harpsichord and another instrument capable of sustaining the bass line, in most cases a string instrument such as a cello or viola da gamba, but a bassoon is not uncommon.

The sonata is constructed in the Baroque sonata di chiesa (“church sonata”) format, that is, a slow-fast-slow-fast order of movements. The opening Adagio is surprisingly brief, occupying a mere twenty measures. The ornate melodic line of the flute lends to the movement the character of a prelude, with the purpose of introducing the other movements. An Allegro movement in duple meter follows. Beginning with a sprightly melody, the flute persists throughout the movement in almost constant sixteenth-note figurations. The third movement is a siciliano, a Baroque dance in compound meter and often emphasizing dotted rhythms. Set in the key of C-sharp minor, the relative minor of E, this movement begins with five bars of canonic imitation between the flute and bass. Though the canon does not extend any further, imitations between the two instruments occur throughout the movement. The final movement is marked Allegro assai (“Very fast”) and abounds in rapid figurations and trills, bringing the sonata to an energetic close.    Joseph DuBose

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Sonata in E Major, BWV 1035          Johann Sebastian Bach

Adagio ma non tanto; Allegro; Siciliano; Allegro assai

Bach's 1741 Sonata in E Major, BWV 1035, for flute and continuo was written for King Frederick the Great's chamberlain Michael Gabriel Fredersdorf who, like the king, was an accomplished flutist.  Written in four movements, the Sonata begins with a slow Adagio, followed by a spirited Allegro, an expressive Siciliano dance movement, and a final Allegro.      Catherine Ramirez

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.