Sonatas No. 17 and 18 in C Minor

No. 17
Started: 6-23-09, 5:59 PM
Completed: 6-23-09, 6:44 PM
Huntington Beach, CA

No. 18
Started: 6-24-09, 2:32 PM
Completed: 6-24-09, 3:01 PM
Huntington Beach, CA

These two c minor sonatas were completed only a few months ago and probably comprise my favorite pair in the set of 30.

I was pretty adventurous in the first sonata in the pair. There is a bunch going on here. The opening and closing sections of each half have a bunch of mordents in the bass much more common in the French school than the Iberian one, but I think there's little else French to be found here. I happen to love traditional American circus music, and there's s some wacky bounciness in the bass to that effect before the first half ends. The sonata ends with two ascending arpeggi leading to a single falling one.

The second sonata in the set is a furiously paced Spanish-style sonata that probably sounds a lot harder to play than it really is. The figure I use to modulate involves momentarily overlapping the hands and is a lot of fun to execute. There are mordents in this sonata, too, but this time in the right hand. I use them to insert a little break before a quick cascade closing each half.

Enjoy!