Sonata

Sonata is the name of a particular kind of instrumental music. The word comes from the Latin word sonare, which means " to sound". It came into use at the end of the 16th Century and was used in a general way to distinguish music that was played from music that was sung. Music to be sung was called a cantata, from the Latin word cantare , "to sing".

In the 17th Century, the word sonata came to mean something more definite - a piece of music that usually had four movements, or sections, which followed a particular patter - slow-quick-slow-quick. Some sonatas were light and made use of dance movements. These were called chamber sonatas.

During the time of Mozart and Haydn the sonata became a work in three or four movements. Towards the 19th century, the sonatas changed a great deal. Composers began to treat their sonatas much more freely and did not stick so faithfully to the pattern of three or four distinct movements.

A sonata has the same kind of musical structure as a symphony. The only difference is that while a symphony is written for an orchestra the sonata is written for the solo piano or violin or each of these playing together.

Bach wrote 5 sonatas for solo cello and violin, Beethoven wrote 32 sonatas for the piano. Chopin and Liszt are other composers who have also written sonatas.