Alexander Alyabyev

Alexander Alyabyev (1787-1851)

Nationality: Russian
Born: August 15, 1787, Tobolsk Died: March 6, 1851, Moscow (age 63)
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Violin Sonata in e minor

(for violin and piano)
I. Allegro con brio
II. Adagio cantabile
III. Rondo. Allegretto scherzando
Duration: 21 minutes (approximately)
Composed: 1843 (age 55-56)

glossary

  • adagio [It]—slow tempo, often implying a lyrical, poignant character
  • allegretto—moderately quick tempo. slower than allegro but faster than andante
  • allegro [I]—fast, lively tempo. From the Italian word for cheerful or gay.
  • brio [I], con brio, brioso—vigor, vigorously, with fire
  • cantabile, cantate, cantando—singing, lyrical, flowing
  • chamber music, Kammermusik [G], musique de chambre [F], musica da camera [I], musica cameralis [L]—"Classical Music" for a small ensemble, generally 8 or fewer players with a canonical emphasis on 3-6 players. explore
  • con [I,S]—with
  • duo, duet, dueto [S], duetto [I], duett [G]—a work for two instruments; the ensemble itself
  • rondo—sectional movement form featuring a recurring refrain between contrasting episodes in a variety of plans, a typical one being ABACABA (A is the refrain; B and C are episodes). Often used for finales.
  • scherzando [I], scherzoso, scherzante—playfully, lively, jestingly
  • sonata, sonate, suonato—a complicated term. Originally, "sounded" rather than "sung" (sonar vs. cantar), e.g. instrumental music. According to historical period, sonata began to imply a formal plan of movements as well as the structure within a single movement, e.g. sonata form. In general usage as a work title, it designates a multi-movement piece for solo or duo instruments with one of the instruments enjoying a feature role.
  • violin sonata—a multi-movement work for violin and keyboard (or continuo) though there are sonatas for solo violin as well as sonatas in a single movement. While the violin would seem to be the featured instrument, many sonatas starting with the classical period find the piano to be an equal partner in the sense of a chamber work for two players.