Sonata da chiesa

(It.: ‘church sonata’).

A Baroque instrumental work, often in four movements. In many churches during
the 17th century, ensemble canzonas and sonatas replaced the organ solos that
had regularly been substituted for elements of the Proper at Mass and Vespers.
Despite the strong evidence for this practice (e.g. in organ tutors), the label ‘da
chiesa’ appears in only about 20% of the volumes containing abstract
instrumental works printed between 1650 and 1689; even Corelli's opp.1 and 3
are called simply Sonate. It is in this light that Brossard's statement (Dictionaire
de musique, 1703) that church (as opposed to chamber) sonatas ‘are what they
[the Italians] properly call Sonatas’ may be understood.
Mid-17th-century church sonatas ordinarily begin with a fast imitative movement,
and include triple-metre sections and expressive adagios, although no single
formal design dominates. Musicians may well have adapted such sonatas to the
requirements of the service by performing isolated sections, a practice that
would have encouraged composers to build sonatas from movements better
able to stand alone. The four-movement design that was standard early in the
next century is evident in about half of Corelli's abstract sonatas (opp.1, 3, and 5
nos.1–6): a slow introduction, followed by a movement in fugal style, an
expressive slow movement (sometimes merely a short transition) and imitative
finale. Biber's Mystery Sonatas (c1676) illustrate his more dramatic and virtuoso
approach to the church sonata.
The ‘da chiesa’ label was little needed, since volumes not suited for church use
were obvious from both scoring and content; moreover abstract sonatas, even if
conceived for liturgical use, were no doubt heard elsewhere as well. Dances
were clearly identified as secular, and some titles proclaimed their mixed content
(e.g. Agostino Guerrieri's Sonate di violino a 1.2.3.4. per chiesa, & anco
aggionta per camera, 1673). The use of organ continuo and the presence of a
separate melodic bass partbook were clearly associated with church sonatas,
whereas in secular collections the bass was scored for one instrument, either
chordal or melodic (e.g. ‘violone o spinetta’). Italian composers from
Buonamente (1620s) to Corelli (1680s) conformed to this pattern – evidence of
the lingering influence of the contrapuntal canzona on sonatas in which the
melodic bass participates fully in contrapuntal dialogue. But such distinctions
between church and chamber sonatas evaporated in Corelli's lifetime (dances
intrude on church sonatas, expressive adagios on chamber sonatas; the melodic
bass and continuo share a single line; even the church sonata's fugue could be
replaced by a binary movement). Thus when J.G. Walther defined the sonata as
a serious piece in which adagios and allegros alternate (Musicalisches Lexicon,
1732), the church and chamber distinction had little relevance.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
NewmanSBE
S. Bonta: ‘The Uses of the sonata da chiesa’, JAMS, xxii (1969), 54–84
J. Sehnal: ‘Zur Differenzierung der sonata da chiesa und sonata da camera in
der zweiten Hälfte des 17. Jahrhunderts’, Musica cameralis: Brno VI 1971,
303–10
J. Daverio: Formal Design and Terminology in the Pre-Corellian ‘Sonata’ and
Related Instrumental Forms in the Printed Sources (diss., Boston U., 1983)
S. Mangsen: ‘The Trio Sonata in Pre-Corellian Prints: When Does 3=4?’,
Performance Practice Review, iii (1990), 138–64
SANDRA MANGSEN