The Baroque trio sonata, a nearly-four hundred year old musical form employed by composers like Arcangelo Corelli, was a suite of miniatures, derived from the popular dance forms of the day. My first trio sonata experiments with traditional fiddle tune styles. The first movement is a “reel” in 4/4, featuring three voices in counterpoint and with a continuo bass (played by the left hand of the accordion). The second movement is a “jig” in 13/8. The third movement is a “breakdown” featuring improvised variations over an unsymmetrical theme and ending in a short cannon.

My goal in creating this work was not to try to replicate something of the past, but rather to draw connections between various traditions and to experiment with a new sounds and techniques for the accordion and folk trio.

My hope is that other musicians may be interested in learning to play this piece—it can easily be arranged for a variety of trio and quartet formats—and so I am making the music for this piece temporarily available for free.