Robert M. Helmschrott

Sonata da chiesa XII

The Lasso-Sonata is the closing piece of a twelve-part sonata-da-chiesa cycle for organ with various wind and string instruments in solo and duet scoring. The pieces were composed between 1984 and 1994.Almost all of the sonatas are based on an eight-tone scale. A particular harmonic feature of the musical material which consists of two similarly constructed tetrachords is the minor third relation. Relations of this sort can already be found in Orlando di Lasso's music; for instance, in the Chromatic Motets. Passages from one such motet (Timor et tremor) are quoted in the twelfth church sonata and are juxtaposed with the newly composed music.