Tesserae Baroque

Tesserae Baroque: The Trio Sonata

One of the defining features of the new Baroque style was the so-called “trio sonata ideal.” In this, musical texture became stratified between a bass and two upper parts. This represented a shift from the equal polyphonic textures of the mature Renaissance style; in contrast, in the trio sonata ideal the middle of the texture is provided by the relatively simple chordal structures of the basso continuo. Nowhere is the trio sonata ideal more obviously seen than in the trio sonata, which, along with opera, was one of the defining genres of the Baroque style. This program will explore the evolution of the trio sonata throughout the Baroque period, in works by Castello, Rossi, Bach and more!

Tesserae Baroque Ensemble returns to the Playhouse stage, with a program of Baroque trio sonatas performed by Alexandra Opsahl (recorder), Vijay Gupta (baroque violin), Leif Woodward (baroque cello), and Ian Pritchard (harpsichord). The Trio Sonata is a program with a focus on the “trio sonata ideal,” one of the defining features of the new Baroque style, and will explore the evolution of the trio sonata throughout the Baroque period in works by Castello, Rossi, Bach and more.