An Andante by Christoph Willibald Gluck

Abstract A nearly set of trio sonatas by Gluck (171 4 – 1787 ) , written perhaps in Milan but published in London, gives a good account of his excellent training in the Italian gallant. In the Andante from the fifth sonata, presented below, little happens harmonically beyond a single use of the hermaphrodite font. But the smooth succession of schemata, the good-natured exchange of the melody between first and second violins, and the subtle use of small clausulae of varying strengths all show a composer of refined technique and musical sensibility. When compared with Gluck’s later operas, which achieved grand success in Paris and Vienna, this Andante may seem almost trifling. Yet many of the famous arias from those later works retain the same gallant discourse.