Instrumentation |
Harpsichord |
Scored for |
Solo |
Type of score |
For a single performer |
Publisher |
Henry Pool |
Difficulty |
Advanced |
The First Sonata is written in the mixolydian mode on the absolute scale of F. The mixolydian mode is the same scale as the "major" scale with the exception of the seventh note, which is lowered by a flat.
The first movement is written in the sonata form, the second in the lied form and the third - as an homage to the great Dutch composer of the sixteenth century, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck - as a ricercare, a form preceding the fugue.
The Second Sonata has also three movements: the first in sonata form, the second in lied form and the third in rondo form, using all the different "old" modes - the dorian, the mixolydian, the phrygian and the lydian - for the secondary themes, while the main theme hops between major (do scale) and minor (la scale).