Henry Purcell - Sonata No. VII

Sonata No. 7 in E minor, Z.796 (ca.1680)

1. Adagio
2. Canzona
3. Largo
4. Grave
5. Vivace

London Baroque

Published in June 1683, Purcell's collection of his 12 Sonnatas of III Parts was dedicated to Charles II and printed by John Playford in London. Purcell sold copies of the sonatas from his home. Purcell began composing these works around 1679, when he became organist at Westminster Abbey, writing most of them in 1680. A second volume of sonatas appeared 1697, published by the successors of Playford at the instigation of Purcell's widow.

On the title page of the Sonnatas of III Parts, the sonatas are said to be for "Two Viollins and Basse: to the Organ or Harpsecord." This combination of instruments had recently become fashionable in England. In the preface, the publisher notes that Mr. Purcell has endeavored to imitate Italian composers, urging his fellow Englishmen to avoid the style of the French. To demonstrate this, he used Italian tempo indications such as "adagio" and "allegro" instead of "slow" and "quick," which appear in his fantasias. The Preface also tells us that Purcell at first intended to publish the sonatas without a continuo part, which seems unlikely, because the bass line of the published continuo part is frequently different from that of the bass viol and would have required additional composition before publication.

The opening slow movement of the Sonata No. 7, in E minor, betrays the influence of the Corellian model of the sonata da chiesa, or "church sonata." As in the fantasias, counterpoint is prominent, although not as rigorous. The opening Allegro of the Sonata in E minor is imitative, and the violin part, although somewhat restricted in range, is highly idiomatic and expressive. In this and the "Vivace" finale, the contrapuntal texture is distinctly English as opposed to Italian, as are the occasional cross relations. Arcangelo Corelli (1653 - 1713) is said to have disliked Purcell's Sonatas, which is peculiar, for the Largo movement of the Sonata in E minor as well as many of the other slow movements in the sonatas, is clearly indebted to the Italian Baroque master. Additionally, the continuo part is sometimes independent of the bass line, as played by the bass viol, in these fugal sections. The most impressive of the sonata's movements is the fugal canzona. Here, Purcell introduces at the movement's midpoint a new chromatic countersubject into the already dense texture surrounding the diatonic subject, increasing the potential for modulation. [allmusic.com]

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