Boismortier, Joseph Bodin de: Six Trio Sonatas, vol. 1

Partly on account of their instrumentation, the Op. 18 sonatas are closely modelled on Corelli’s Opp. 1–4, both in terms of style and violin technique. Each consists of four or five movements, at least one being a dance; most of the slow movements feature the familiar Corellian “walking bass”, while one of the fast movements in each sonata is fugal or based on imitative entries. In spite of their adherence to Italian models, however, the sonatas do display certain French elements, along with characteristics of Boismortier’s individual style. The harmonic language is particularly rich, with a marked predilection for chords of the seventh, and two of the sonatas feature the composer’s own version of a (loosely constructed) double fugue.