Hotteterre: Trio Sonata in D Major, op. 3, no. 2

0:00 I. Prelude. Gravement 2:18 II. Courante. Légèrement 4:30 III. Grave 5:50 IV. Gigue. Vivement This trio sonata is second in a set of six by Jacques Hotteterre, who was important not only as a composer but as a wind instrument maker, particularly of the transverse flute, which was gaining popularity at the time in France. He also played recorder, oboe, musette, and bassoon. It contains a prelude and three dance movements (though the third movement is not labeled as such, it feels like a sarabande to me) which also conforms to the slow-fast-slow-fast baroque sonata form that is typical of the time. The second line of this particular sonatas is rather low and was probably conceived for the flute and not the recorder, but it fits on the tenor recorder with the only difficulty being that executing a trill from high A to B (in the last movement) would be very unfriendly indeed!