Sonata

Sonata (Italian suonare, “to sound”), musical composition for one or more instruments. The term sonata form refers to the musical form typical of the first movements of 18th- and 19th-century sonatas and related genres. Since the mid-18th century, the term sonata has generally been used for works in a three- or four-movement format for one or two instruments, as in the piano sonata (for solo piano) or violin sonata (for violin with a keyboard instrument). Terms other than sonata are used for works cast in the same overall format but composed for other combinations of instruments; for instance, a sonata for orchestra is called a symphony, a sonata for a solo instrument with orchestra is called a concerto, and a sonata for string quartet is called a string quartet.

In the 16th and 17th centuries the term sonata, which appeared with increasing frequency in the titles of instrumental works, meant merely an instrumental “sound piece” as distinct from a vocal composition. The term did not imply any specific format or style of composition. A format and style developed in Italy during the late 16th and early 17th centuries, when instrumental music was first cultivated on a large scale. The format consisted of several clearly delineated sections in contrasting tempos and textures, such as a dancelike section followed by a slow melody with accompaniment followed by a fast section in fuguelike form. Such compositions were not necessarily called sonatas; the terms ricercare and canzona were more frequently used. During the 1630s the number of sections in these pieces tended to decrease to three or four, the length of the remaining sections tended to increase, and their formal structure tended to become more complex, incorporating long-range relationships involving rhythm, harmony, melody, and other musical features. Finally, the sections became separate movements.

By the late 17th century two categories of sonatas emerged: the sonata da chiesa, or church sonata, a serious work having four movements in the format slow-fast-slow-fast and reflecting the contrapuntal complexity of the older ricercare and canzona; and the sonata da camera, or chamber sonata, a series of short dance-derived movements, the forerunner of the suite. The most typical instrumental combination for the sonata during the middle and late Baroque period was the trio sonata: two melody instruments accompanied by basso continuo (bass melody instrument supported by a harmony instrument). The outstanding 17th-century master of the trio sonata was the Italian violinist Arcangelo Corelli. Sonatas were also written for small instrumental ensembles (including many sonatas by Corelli) and for solo instruments, as in the solo violin and solo cello sonatas by J. S. Bach and the solo keyboard sonatas by the German Johann Kuhnau. Sonatas for a single melody instrument and basso continuo were also written, among them the violin sonatas by the Austrian Heinrich von Biber.

During the pre-Classical and early Classical periods, the sonata da chiesa, influenced by the sonata da camera, evolved into a clearly defined form in three or four movements, the first usually in sonata form and in a moderately fast tempo; the second, using one of several forms, in a slow tempo; and the final movement, also in one of several forms, in a fast tempo. When a fourth movement was used, it was a minuet inserted before the final movement. During the mid-18th century the term sonata came to be used only when the performing medium was a solo keyboard instrument or some other solo instrument accompanied by a keyboard instrument. The format of the sonata, together with the principles of sonata form, permeated the music of the era, not only instrumental sonatas but also symphonies, concertos, and string quartets and other chamber music. The Classical sonata is outstandingly exemplified by W. A. Mozart, Joseph Haydn, and Ludwig van Beethoven. Like most 19th-century composers, Beethoven wrote four-movement sonatas, but in his last years he sometimes discarded this format in favour of more or fewer movements.

During the 19th century the Classical sonata tradition was maintained by such Austrian and German composers as Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms. Many composers, however, such as the Polish pianist Frédéric Chopin, were more at ease with short pieces than with large-scale works; when they wrote sonatas, they tended to disregard large-scale musical relationships by writing strikingly differentiated movements, the internal structure of which emphasized correspondingly differentiated episodes. Others, such as the Hungarian pianist Franz Liszt, discarded much of the traditional format. His Sonata in B Minor is a long work in one movement, recalling the format of a symphonic poem.

Twentieth-century composers have followed a variety of paths in their sonatas. Some, such as the Samuel Barber, have written large virtuoso pieces in the 19th-century tradition. Some, such as the Russian-born Igor Stravinsky, have returned to the Classical principles of restraint and formal clarity. Others, such as the American innovator Charles Ives, have used the term sonata more loosely to recall to the listener's mind the great traditions of the past, but the format and character of their music have tended to be highly individualistic. The meaning of the term sonata is thus slowly returning to its original somewhat ambiguous definition as an instrumental piece that has been composed in the absence of predetermined characteristics.