Violin Sonata No. 4 in C Minor

Bach’s Six Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord BWV 1014-19 are all about the art of civilised discourse. Rather than consigning the harpsichord to a merely accompanying role, he writes independent parts for the hands that, when merged with the violin, create a trio-sonata style, three-way discourse. They were probably written before Bach moved to Leipzig in 1723, but he continued to polish them, and a note on a surviving copy of the G major Sonata observes poignantly, “This trio was written just before his demise”. The C Minor Sonata follows the Italian church sonata model, alternating between slow and fast movements, and opens in a supremely relaxed mood with a discreetly embellished aria for the violin underpinned by a flowing contribution from the harpsichord. It’s followed by a pithy fugal “Allegro”, whose theme passes from keyboard to violin and thence to the bass line. A shift to E-flat major returns the violin to centre stage, and, like the opening “Largo”, the “Adagio” pursues an achingly tender vocalisation. Incorporating a little rhythmic tongue-in-cheekery and an inversion of the theme at the halfway point, a densely-woven “Allegro” cheerfully wraps things up.