6 Biblical Sonatas. AOK 6C

By Johann Kuhnau

For folks in the 18th century, depictive keyboard music was typical, subjects ranging from restful pastoral scenes to the execution of Marie Antoinette. Kuhnau's "Biblical Sonatas" are multi-sectional, often freely-structured pieces that suggest scenes from mainly the Hebrew Scriptures of the Bible (so-called "Old Testament"). The...

one available recording of these sonatas utilizes three different instruments, so presumably any instrument playing treble and bass clefs can work. Some individual moments are quite amusing -- I love the way the Philistines scatter like cockroaches in the David and Goliath sonata. Look carefully and you'll find a useful prelude on the Passion Chorale toward the beginning of the sonata about the convalescent. Individual sections are technically challenging, but there are segments appropriate for beginner and intermediate players. This is a handsome volume, clearly presented, with all the composer's annotations printed and translated.