Trombone and cornett players by Giovanni Battista Bracelli

The Sonata in D minor is a

sonata Sonata (; Italian: , pl. ''sonate''; from Latin and Italian: ''sonare'' rchaic Italian; replaced in the modern language by ''suonare'' "to sound"), in music, literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cant ...

for brass quintet (2

cornett The cornett, cornetto, or zink is an early wind instrument that dates from the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods, popular from 1500 to 1650. It was used in what are now called alta capellas or wind ensembles. It is not to be confused wi ...

s, 3

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

s and continuo) by the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

composer Georg Daniel Speer (1636–1709)

Background

Speer was born in current day Wrocław, Poland (formerly Breslau) and died in Göppingen, Germany. As a composer, he wrote sonatas for

s (formerly known as

sackbut The term sackbut refers to the early forms of the trombone commonly used during the Renaissance music, Renaissance and Baroque music, Baroque eras. A sackbut has the characteristic telescopic slide of a trombone, used to vary the length of th ...

s) and cornetti with basso continuo. However, Speer is most widely known for his Sonata No. 29 from ''Die Bänkelsängerlieder'' for brass quintet. He was more well known for his music theory during his lifetime. However, there is no official document attesting to his activities before 1664.Warszawski, Jean-Marc. "Speer Daniel." Daniel Speer (1636-1717). N.p., 25 Aug. 2013. Web. 28 Sept. 2015
/ref> Speer was also a prolific writer with three or four autobiographical novels that shed light on the music scene of his era. Aside from the autobiographies, Speer wrote a musical treatise that is considered very useful in understanding Middle Baroque music (the time period in which he composed). During the Middle Baroque period trombones (sackbuts) gained popularity in part thanks to composers like Speer, who wrote music specifically for trombones – most notably his trombone

Music

Instrumentation and general composition

Speer's trombone sonatas are all written using the same basic instrumentation – 2 or 3 cornetti, 3 or 4 trombones, and continuo. In these sonatas the trombones play the main subject or theme while the cornetti provide a counter-melody and the continuo plays in harmony. The melody line trades between all 4 trombones in different ranges; generally the alto trombone would play the first iteration of the theme, then the theme would move down to the second alto/tenor trombone, then the tenor trombone takes over, and finally the bass trombone or contrabass trombone would play the final iteration of the theme and the 4 trombones will either end in unison or in harmony on the tonic chord. This specific sonata is written for six voices: 2 cornetti, 3 trombones, and basso continuo.

References

{{Reflist
"Sonata in D Minor (Speer, Georg Daniel)." - IMSLP/Petrucci Music Library: Free Public Domain Sheet Music. Fritz Brodersen, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2015

Guion, David M. A History of the Trombone. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2010. Print

External links

Recording of the Sonata in D minor
scored for 4 trombones and played by the Slokar Trombone Quartet (official YouTube channel of

Claves Records Claves Records is a Swiss classical record label, which was founded in 1968 by Marguerite Dütschler-Hüber (1931–2006) in Thun. History Marguerite Dütschler-Hüber founded Claves with business partner Ursula Pfaehler when her piano teacher ...

) Sonatas Baroque compositions Compositions for trombone