This Trio Sonata is the first of a set of six published in Paris in 1712 for pairs of ‘flûtes traversieres, flûtes a bec, violons, hautbois, &c.’ with continuo by Mr. Hotteterre, Flûte de la Chambre du Roy. They were dedicated to the Duke of Orleans and published ‘avec privilege du Roy.’
The first Sonata has been edited and arranged for flute, oboe & clarinet in Bb. The four movements, Prelude, Fugue, Grave and Gigue, are in the Baroque style with the interest equally shared between the three parts. Dynamics in the 1712 edition are French - doux and fort. These have been standardised as p & f. The top parts were printed in the soprano clef - with g on the bottom line as was common in France at the time. Amusingly this led to some modern ill informed speculation about flutes of the period being expected to play low bs! In this edition all edits are shown using parentheses ( ) or dashed lines.
The Trio is suitable for players of intermediate standard and above and provides repertoire in the French Baroque style for an ensemble of players just a few years beyond the reach of Hotteterre.
HOTTETERRE: TRIO SONATA IN G MINOR OPUS 3 No. 1 for flute, oboe & clarinet
