Max Derrickson

Anonymous
(c. 1684, Germany)

Sonata from “Die Bankelsangerlieder”

As composer Eric Ewazen pointed out in a 1994 interview, the Renaissance Era witnessed a great flourishing of works composed for brass instruments.  Most notable was the antiphonal music of Giovanni Gabrieli (c.1553-6 – 1612) in Italy, and as the Renaissance spread throughout Europe, so did its musical designs.  Near the end of this epoch in the late 17^th Century, Germany was at its own Renaissance height, and a group of unattributed vocal works called “Die Bankelsangerlieder” was published.  At the very end of the collection was this “Sonata” scored for 5 brass instruments.

The Renaissance term “bankelsanger” referred to a travelling singer, otherwise known as a “troubadour” in Renaissance France, who made his living by standing on a bench in taverns and singing for his supper.  “Sonata” came from the Italian word “sonare” which simply meant “to sound” or “play” – a precursor form to what became the fugue and later the classical sonata form we know from Mozart and Haydn.  It’s a remarkable piece in its energy and brass sonorities, and with its within-group antiphonal playing that […]   It is timeless too in its beauty.  Indeed, it has remained […].