Trio (music)

In music, a trio (from the Italian) is any of the following:

  • a composition for three performers or three musical parts
  • in larger works, the middle section of a ternary form (so named because of the 17th-century practice of scoring the contrasting second or middle dance appearing between two statements of a principal dance for three instruments)
  • an ensemble of three instruments or voices performing trio compositions.
This article is about the musical term. For other uses of trio, see Trio (disambiguation).
The Schumann-Halir-Dechert Piano Trio (violin, cello, and piano)

Composition

A trio is a composition for three performers or musical parts. Works include Baroque trio sonatas, choral works for three parts, and works for three instruments such as string trios.

In the trio sonata, a popular genre of the 17th and early 18th century, two melodic instruments are accompanied by a basso continuo, making three parts in all. But because the basso continuo is usually played by two instruments (typically a cello or bass viol and a keyboard instrument such as the harpsichord), performances of trio sonatas typically involve four musicians. However there are also examples for a single performer such as Bach's Organ Sonatas or Trios, BWV 525–30 for two hands and a pair of feet, and also for two performers, such as his Violin Sonatas, Viol Sonatas and Flute Sonata, in which the harpsichordist's right hand performs a melodic part.

In vocal music with or without accompaniment, the term terzet is sometimes preferred to "trio".[1]

Form

From the 17th century onward, trio has been used to describe a contrasting second or middle dance appearing between two statements of a principal dance, such as a minuet or bourrée. This second dance was originally called a trio because of the 17th-century practice of scoring it for three instruments, and later examples continued to be referred to as trios, even when they involved a larger number of parts.[2][3] The Menuet of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 (1721) is a late nod to the original practice, with trios for two oboes and bassoon as well as two horns and a third part played by three oboes in unison.

Ensemble

Derived from the compositions, trio often denotes a group of three solo instruments or voices.[2] The most common types of such compositions are the piano trio of typically piano, violin and cello, and the string trio of commonly violin, viola and cello.[3]

Other types of trio include :

References
  1. McClymonds, Cook & Budden 1992.
  2. Randel 2003.
  3. Schwandt 2001.

Cited sources
  • McClymonds, Marita P.; Cook, Elisabeth; Budden, Julian (1992). Sadie, Stanley (ed.). Trio [terzet]. ISBN 978-0-93-585992-8. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  • Randel, Don Michael (2003). Trio. ISBN 978-0-67-401163-2. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  • Schwandt, Erich (2001). Sadie, Stanley; Tyrrell, John (eds.). Trio. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
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