Trio Sonata for Flute, Violin (or two Flutes) and Basso continuo in G major (BWV 1038)

J S Bach Trio Sonata for Flute, Violin (or two Flutes) and Basso continuo in G major (BWV 1038)
handed down as a work by Johann Sebastian Bach

The usual seventeenth and eighteenth-century setting for the trio sonata – two melodic instruments plus thorough bass – is seldom found in the chamber music of Johann Sebastian Bach.  Of the five trio sonatas listed in the thematic catalogue of Bach’s works, (BWV 1034 to 1039 and 1079 no. 8), only two are considered indisputably authentic: the Trio Sonata in G major for two flutes, (BWV 1039) and the one in C minor for flute and violin from the Musical Offering, (BWV 1079).  Of the three remaining sonatas, only the one given here has a direct connection to Johann Sebastian Bach.  A fair copy in his hand ranks as the only source for the work.  He may, perhaps, have collaborated in the composition itself.