Telemann Sonatinas: The Sonata Form On Diet

The use of the term "sonatinas" suggests often that the pieces are somehow "easy" simple mini-sonatas. There's a truth to this however it's a mistake to consider them "simple" when it comes to playing them. Sonatinas were apparently "popular" in the classical era and some still believe it's an archaic form similar to the 4 movement sonata form however, it's tiny... A sonata on diet!

It certainly has the sonata form with often an intro, an exposition, a development, a recapitulation and a coda. This varies between the pieces of course! What is not totally known is the fact that modern composers used the sonatina form: Martinu, Husa, Stockhausen, etc.

Tonight I had a coaching session on Telemann Sonatinas. I agree they are simpler than his sonatas, shorter, less challenging technically... However, they have their own mini challenges. If you're not sharp on intonation, anyone is able to notice you're off track. Another aspect of Baroque music is the interpretation; you really must do something with this music. After you're solid on playing the notes, you better work on ornamentation! If not, the music becomes dull very quickly.

These 6 sonatinas are also a good intro to baroque music in a way and should be studied before moving to something more elaborate like Vivaldi's 12 sonatas or the concertos for that matter. An edition I DO NOT RECOMMEND is the G. Schirmer edited by Rok Klopcic. The fingering is a complete disaster, even the slurs and bow strokes don't make total sense and need to be re-written.

I'm not a big fan of Telemann even though I consider that I've played his music very often in chamber music or solo pieces. I still like some of his violin concertos and his Canonic Sonatas for two violins or Methodical Sonatas for violin are fun to play. These pieces help putting things back in order in a way and can be worked as studies to refine the intonation or apply other techniques like the vibrato in the slow movements.

Quiet Blog... Busy Violin... Tchaikovsky and the Others

I left my blog for a while! Now, I'm back to it. I actually was busy lately between orchestra rehearsals and some music lessons. You also need to be in some kind of state of mind to write and I don't always find the time nor the inspiration. The Philharmonia Mundi Orchestra program is coming well together and is really quiet interesting. Schubert Unfinished Symphony has something really special to it and the conductor was excellent in providing a clear image on what this piece is really about and how interpretation is so important. Now it's time to put this in practice.

The other big challenging piece is Tchaikovsky's Marche Slave that requires playing in higher positions. Luckily the piece has some shifting progression to it and the intention seems to be the effect the music creates than precision on itself. Luckily the flutes and little piccolo are there to give us a hand since we play at unison most of the time especially when the orchestra goes wild and you don't hear your own violin.

I'm enjoying more and more the first violin section mainly because it's a new challenge and secondly because you lead the melody most of the time so you have some kind of hint if you're in tune or if your totally off. The second violins section has its challenges too and the music is just not always easy to play.

You wonder sometimes what the composer was really thinking about when he put those notes there but all makes sense when the music is played.