Parcham’s only recorder work this sonata has established itself as standard repertoire.
The piece is printed after 40 Airs Anglois à un Dessus et une Basse & Trois Sonates les deux premiers à 2 Dessus & le troisième à un Dessus & une Basse choisis & mis en ordre par George Bingham Livre Second… , published in Amsterdam in 1701-2 by Estienne Roger.
No attempt has been made to rationalise the notation of dotted rhythms, for instance in the opening movement, where a few notes moving by step are notated as equal quavers, in contrast to the predominant dotted rhythms of the section. No editorial trills have been added: it is now reasonable to expect players of baroque music to know where such decorations are required.
This work was written before the four-movement structure of the late baroque sonata had become largely de rigueur: like some of the sonatas of Paisible, and some of the earlier pieces of Finger, it is made up of a series of short sections, which seem to need to follow each other without any significant break.
(Bernard Thomas)
