Sonata No.4 in G minor ZWV 181,4

Zelenka Sonata No.4 in G minor ZWV 181,4 (Score & Parts)
for 2 Oboes (or Violin and Oboe) Bassoon (Violoncello) and Basso continuo.

Of the many trio sonatas written during the 150-year history of this genre the set composed in 1721–2 by Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679–1745) is certainly among the most striking and unusual.  Extreme both in their dimensions and their demands on performers, they unite sophisticated formal designs with exhilarating virtuosity.

These sonatas appeared in print for the first time more than three decades ago in the series “Hortus Musicus” edited by Camillo Schoenbaum, a pathbreaking publication that ushered in the current Zelenka renaissance.  Since then recent discoveries and analyses of the sources have made this new edition necessary in order to create a performing version that meets scholarly standards.