German oboist and violinist Sebastian Bodinus (1700-1759) would almost certainly be forgotten today were it not for his Musicalischen Divertissiments, a six-part collection of ensemble sonatas published by the Leopold family in Augsburg and issued between 1726 and 1730. Part II (1727) contains six sonatas for transverse flute, violin and basso continuo, all of them ‘Sonaten auf Concertenart’, that is, they incorporate features of the concerto genre, including the fast–slow–fast movement scheme, ritornello form in the first movement, and ‘solo’ episodes.

The sonatas are dedicated to Crown Prince Friedrich Ludwig, duke of Württemberg, who was an avid flautist and recorder player. But while the ‘solos’ tend to favour the flute, the demands on the player are limited, perhaps an indication of the duke’s technical abilities. Whatever the case, these interesting and appealing works are very accessible to amateur musicians. Like several chamber concertos by Vivaldi, Telemann and Boismortier, they offer flautists and violinists the opportunity to perform ‘concertos’ without having to organize an accompanying orchestra!

 Music example Sonata 1 (pdf)
 Music example Sonata 2 (pdf)
 Music example Sonata 3 (pdf)
 Music example Sonata 4 (pdf)
 Music example Sonata 5 (pdf)
 Music example Sonata 6 (pdf)