poser of the earliest known sonata for the
clavier. In 1695 he published at Leipzig--

"Sieben Partien aus dem Re, Mi, Fa, oder Terzia minore eines jedweden
Toni, benebenst einer _Sonata_ aus dem B. Denen Liebhabern dieses
Instrumenten zu gar besondern Vergnuegen aufgesetzet." That is--

Seven Partitas based on the Re, Mi, Fa, or minor third of each mode,
together with a Sonata in B flat, for the especial gratification of
lovers of this instrument.

With respect to this sonata, Kuhnau remarks in his preface: "I have
added at the end a Sonata in B flat, which will please amateurs; for
why should not such things be attempted on the clavier as well as on
other instruments?" In such modest fashion was ushered into the world
the first sonata for clavier, or, at any rate, the earliest with which
we are acquainted.[40]

Mattheson, in _Das neu eroeffnete Orchester_ (1713), speaks about the
_revival_ of clavier sonatas, so that it is not quite certain whether
that B flat Sonata was actually the first.[41] During the seventeenth
century, sonatas were written for various instruments, with a figured
bass for the cembalo.

It will, of course, be interesting to trace the influences acting upon
Kuhnau. They were of two kinds: the one, Italian; the other, German.
Corelli deserves first mention; and next, the Italian organist and
composer, Vincenzo Albrici,[42] capellmeister to the Elector of Saxony
from 1664-88, and afterwards organist of St. Thomas', Leipzig, who is
known to have encouraged Kuhnau when young, and to have helped him to
learn the Italian language. But German influence must also have been
strong. Of Froberger special mention will be made later on. There was
one man, Diderich Becker, who published sonatas for violins and bass
already in 1668, and these, if we mistake not, must have been well
known to Kuhnau. Apart from the character of the music, the title of
the work, _Musikalische Fruelings Fruechte_, and the religious style of
the preface, remind one of Kuhnau's "Frische Fruechte," also of his
preface to the "Bible" Sonatas. It is curious to find the quaint
expression "unintelligent birds" used first by Becker, and afterwards
by Kuhnau.

Let us describe briefly the above-mentioned B flat Sonata. The first
movement is in common time, but the composer gave it no heading. It is
generally supposed (Becker, Rimbault, Pauer) to be an Allegro;
_moderato_ might well be added, for the stately, Handelian-like (the
anachr