Sonata da camera
A Baroque chamber sonata of dance-like movements, as opposed to the sonata da chiesa.
What it means
The sonata da camera (“chamber sonata”) is a Baroque genre for a few instruments, usually two melody instruments and basso continuo. Its movements are essentially dance movements such as allemande, courante, sarabande, and gigue, often introduced by a prelude.
It thus differs from the sonata da chiesa (“church sonata”), whose movements are more serious and not tied to dances.
Musical use
The genre arose in seventeenth-century Italy and was decisively shaped by composers such as Arcangelo Corelli, whose trio sonatas are divided into both types. It was meant for performance at home or at court, not in church services.
The separation was never strict: church sonatas take in dance movements, chamber sonatas serious ones, and over the course of the eighteenth century the difference blurs.
The sonata da camera should be distinguished from the suite, which likewise strings together dance movements but is usually for a solo instrument or an orchestra and does not have the scoring of the trio sonata, and from the Classical sonata with its sonata form.
Performance practice
Play the dance movements according to their character: keep in mind the dance step and pulse, even when no one is dancing. The basso continuo should be shaped together with the melody parts as the foundation.