Blow composed only a solitary trio sonata (unless we count the G minor Ground). In the Sonata in A major, perhaps surprisingly, he eschewed the dazzling contrapuntal fireworks of examples by Purcell—nearly two dozen masterpieces all told—in favour of a more relaxed and, in places, markedly lyrical style. The main theme of the triple-time central movement, for instance, bears a striking resemblance to the wonderful melody that occurs at the corresponding point in the opening symphony of Blow’s symphony anthem The Lord is my shepherd, composed by 1677. But the trio sonata probably dates from two or three years later, when Purcell (emulating, as he put it, ‘the most fam’d Italian masters’) began exploring the enormous potential of this genre—the quintessence of instrumental chamber music in the period, much as was the string quartet a century later.

from notes by Bruce Wood © 2017