Six Trio Sonatas op. 2 – Volume 2

Stanley Sadie’s opinion, expressed in 1963, that the two of the twelve trio sonatas by Frederick Ernest Fisher(1711/12–1760), divided equally between Op. 1 (c.1751) and Op. 2 (c.1761), were ‘among the finest of their time’ while some of the others were ‘remarkably inventive and original’ almost sells this composer short.

Every single one of these works, scored for two violins, cello and harpsichord, is masterly and deserves a permanent place in the repertoire. Born in or near Kassel, Fisher spent several years in Holland, teaching music from 1741 to 1745 at the university of Leiden, before emigrating to England. After spending about two years in London he settled permanently in Cambridge, where he taught music to members of the local music society. His Op. 2 set is externally very similar to its Op. 1 predecessor in its combinations of movement types and musical language, but now has an added spaciousness and audacity born of greater maturity.

Everything is wonderfully blended: the fugal movements are melodious; the ‘singing allegros’ are harmonically rich and contrapuntally charged; the dance-like movements, full of happy surprises, fizz and purr. Op. 2 appeared in print only in the year following Fisher’s death. Surprisingly in the circumstances, the level of accuracy in the engraved parts matched the high standard set by Op. 1. This would have gratified the composer, who was so evidently a perfectionist in all he undertook.