I
Musical form for one or more instruments, usually consisting of three or four movements.
The name, Italian for "sounded (on an instrument)," originally simply indicated nonvocal music and was used for a confusing variety of genres into the late 17th century. In the 1650s two types of ensemble sonatas began to be codified, the sonata da chiesa (church sonata) and sonata da camera (chamber sonata). The former, intended for church performance, was generally in four movements, two of them slow; the latter was usually a suite of dances. The so-called solo sonata (for soloist
usually violin
and continuo ) and the trio sonata (for two soloists and continuo) became standard. In the 1740s solo keyboard sonatas began to be written. sonata form . The second movement was usually slow. The last movement was generally a minuet , rondo , or theme and variations . In a four-movement sonata, the third was usually a minuet or scherzo . In these respects the sonata paralleled genres such as the symphony and the string quartet .
II
[c mediumvioletred] (as used in expressions)
sonata form
sonata allegro form
{{link=trio sonata">trio sonata