The concept of Sonata in 3 for 4 began with a practical question: How many measures of a four­-staff system could I get into a three­-page spread? In order to obtain a more generous performance length, I followed the centuries-­old practice of constructing an instrumental work, generically called a sonata, comprising two or more repeated sections. A Wikipedia entry states: “Sonata is a vague term, with varying meanings depending on the context and time period.” Such a flexible term seemed an appropriate description of my four-­part instrumental piece in triple meter. Thus, Sonata in 3 for 4. The 3 in the title represents triple meter. The 4 in the title represents the four voices, as well as the four repeated sections labeled A,B,C, and D. The fifth section, E, is essentially a recapitulation of section A and serves as a concluding Coda. However, if section E were to be “numeralized,” I might have called the piece Sonata in 3 (meter) for 4 (instruments) in 5 (sections). Perfect intervals of fourths and fifths, often moving in parallel motion, are prominent in this piece, which also mixes varied major and minor harmonic elements with bits of imitative counterpoint and eventually comes to rest on a C-­major triad.

--David Hurd

This Play-the-Recorder-Month composition was made possible by a generous donation from Wendy Powers, who writes “I am very pleased to sponsor David Hurd’s Sonata in 3 for 4 as the 2026 ARS Play-the Recorder Month Composition. I cannot wait to introduce this charming piece to student ensembles, combining exactly the right elements of fun and a bit of chromatic tanginess with accessibility within the idiom of the recorder consort. Thank you David!”