Sonatas

Sonata is a term used in Western classical music to denote a work for one or more instruments, typically in several movements. The word derives from the Italian sonare, “to sound,” and originally referred to something sounded rather than sung. In the Baroque period, the sonata designation applied to instrumental pieces not tied to a single formal blueprint. Two principal types emerged: the sonata da camera (chamber sonata), a collection of stylized dance movements intended for private performance; and the sonata da chiesa (church sonata), a more serious, often slower work suited to liturgical settings. These pieces were usually written for one or more instruments with basso continuo and emphasized contrast of musical textures.

In the Classical period, the term sonata shifted toward a multi-movement work for a solo instrument with accompaniment (most commonly piano) or for a small instrumental ensemble. The genre also developed a defining formal practice known as sonata form, used most prominently in the first movement: an exposition with two or more contrasting themes, a development in which those themes are transformed through modulation, and a recapitulation returning to the home key; a concluding coda may follow. Many sonatas adopted three or four movements, typically fast–slow–fast, with a dance-like minuet or scherzo replacing the standard finale on some occasions.

Important composers include Baroque figures such as Corelli and Scarlatti, who laid the groundwork for the keyboard and chamber sonata, and Classical masters Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, who established and expanded the form. The term remains broad, encompassing works from the late Baroque through the modern era, though the prevailing concept is a structured, typically instrumental piece in multiple movements.