Telemann and Handel were two of the most skilled composers for the treble recorder during the late Baroque. Both understood the character of the instrument, its limitations and its strong points, and wrote affectingly, often brilliantly for it. The Trio Sonata in D minor for treble recorder, violin and continuo exists in a manuscript at The Royal Conservatoire of Music in Brussels. In the opening movement the two melody instruments share the initial thematic material whilst the recorder, especially, is given extended passagework exploring both the versatility of the instrument and its performer. The Adagio is mildly plaintive, never emerging from the home key of D minor. Both the following Allegro and Presto movements are vigorous and animated; in the Presto we can detect a Balkan folk-music flavour in the strong unison passages of the two upper instruments.
from notes by Nicholas Anderson © 2002
