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German oboist and violinist
Sebastian Bodinus (1700-1759) might today be almost completely forgotten if not for his Musicalischen Divertissiments — a six-part collection of ensemble sonatas that was published by the Leopold family in Ausburg and issued between 1726 and 1730.
Part I of the Musicalischen Divertissiments (1726) contains six highly original trio sonatas for two violins and basso continuo which, in spite of their scoring, owe less to Corelli than to Bodinus’ German contemporaries, notably Molter and Telemann. With their predilection for several dance forms, in particular the menuet, bourrée and siciliana, and their inclusion of imitative ‘fuga’ movements, these sonatas not only provide an introduction to Bodinus’ style but also anticipate the music to be found in the following five parts of the collection. They furthermore contain several surprises, not the least of which is possibly the earliest documented example of notated polymeter — a passage in which the individual parts bear different time signatures — in published Western music!
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Music example Sonata 1 (pdf)
