Telemann: Twelve Trios

This volume contains trio sonatas written during the early part of Telemann's career, when he was heavily influenced by the sonatas of Corelli and the dance music of Jean-Baptiste Lully. Probably composed before 1715, these works reveal an unfamiliar side of the composer, once far removed from the galant style and "mixed taste" of the music he published during the 1720s and 1730s. The trio sonatas encompass a variety of styles and movement types, including French preludes and dances, ostinato-based slow movements, vigorous fugues, some of the earliest known sonata movements in ritornello form, and a late example of the stylus phantasticus in instrumental ensemble music. Seven of the works are scored for two violins (including two trios that call for scordatura); three are suitable for pairs of flutes, oboes, or violins; and the remaining two are for oboe and violin, and flute and viola da gamba.