When is a trio not a trio?

 That question is not meant to be a riddle. We teach that trio means there will be 3 parts. And that’s correct most of the time. I attended a chamber music concert recently that was stunning. A non-musician friend attended with me. The question had come up during a dinner party. I love such questions. My friend had been exploring Bach with Apple music. One selection the algorithm came up with sounded like more than 3 instruments, the picture showed 4 musicians smiling standing around what seemed like a piano. I explained a bit, then invited them to attend the concert with me.  The riddle was solved for them once we sat down and looked at the program and how things were set up.

In 5000 words or less (yes, we musicians often go down rabbit holes answering questions) the trio played that afternoon was a Bach piece. On “stage” (remember it was a chamber music concert….think a gathering after dinner before the dancing starts) was a harpsichord, a chair and 3 stands. The musicians sitting down (harpsichord and cello) were providing one “part” as the Continuo while 2 violins played the other parts standing at the other 2 music stands. The upper parts were closely paired in dialogue with statements and answers while the lower parts provided the harmonic foundation. A lovely concert!

Now before my Bach friends hit the Comment button, the cello was viole de gambe and algorithms are not usually this cooperative. There. Now how does this relate to tatting?

I’ve had sketches piling up for lace based on trios. Representing the 3 lines of music just wasn’t working! Until that afternoon. I needed to be reminded that continuo and hocket exist all the time in Baroque trios. I’ve been amending my sketches. Nothing in thread yet. Maybe tomorrow…….