Purcell – Sonata for Trumpet and Strings, 3rd Movement (1694)

Eighteen question-and-answer flashcards covering the principal stylistic, structural, and harmonic features of Purcell’s Sonata for Trumpet and Strings, 3rd movement.

In which Baroque genre would you typically find a gigue as the final movement?

A Dance Suite.

What is the characteristic metre/feel at the start of Purcell’s third movement gigue?

Fast triple time, often interpreted as compound time.

What texture opens the movement before the trumpet enters?

Imitative polyphony (fugal counterpoint).

Which Italian composers most influenced Purcell’s fugal finales?

Arcangelo Corelli and Giuseppe Torelli.

Why can the trumpet participate fully in this movement after being absent in movement II?

There is very little modulation, keeping the music in a comfortable key for natural trumpet.

List the order of instrumental entries (with interval) in bars 1-16.

1) 1st violins (original); 2) violas (8ve lower); 3) 2nd violins (4th lower); 4) cellos (2 octaves lower); 5) trumpet (same pitch as original).

What harmonic outline is implied by the melodic subject announced at the opening?

V – I – V – I.

How are the decorations in violin II at bars 11, 12, 14, 15 described?

Suspensions.

Name two immediate changes that signal the new section at bar 16.

Dynamic drops from forte to piano and the texture shifts from imitation to homophony/antiphony.

How is the relationship between trumpet and strings best described in bars 16-24?

Antiphonal dialogue.

Which intervallic pattern characterises the trumpet melody in bars 16-24?

Descending triads.

What two features link the cadence at bar 26 with cadences in the other movements?

A trill and a note of anticipation in dotted rhythm.

Which melodic device spotlights the trumpet just before bar 33?

A descending sequence.

How is the returning subject altered in bars 33-46?

It is inverted, rising instead of falling.

What key does the music briefly modulate to in bars 33-46?

B minor, the relative minor.

How is the ensemble split for the antiphony in bars 51-55?

Trumpet doubles Violin I in unison while the rest of the strings play in homophony.

What contrapuntal ‘clash’ appears in bars 54-55 between C♮ and C♯?

A false relation.

What notes does the trumpet play in the codetta (bars 64-80), and which harmony dominates?

Only the notes of the tonic triad, reinforcing the tonic chord.