Among Bax's many musical friends were the Count and Countess Benckendorff, Russian émigrés who had arrived in England in 1924 and whom Bax met two years later. The Count was a flutist (who performed under the name Constantin Kony) and his wife a harpist (who performed as Maria Korchinska), and Bax wrote several works for them. The Sonata was dedicated "To Count K. Benckendorff," and he and the Countess premiered the work on January 19, 1929, at the Ipswich Central Library. They performed the work several times in following years, but the Sonata's manuscript also remained in their possession, and as a result the work didn't become widely known. Eventually Bax withdrew the Sonata and in 1936 recast it as a Septet (or Concerto) for flute, oboe, harp, and string quartet. But the original arrangement has proved the more popular.

The Sonata begins with a sprightly, rhapsodic Allegro moderato whose melodies have a slight Irish cast to them, reflecting Bax's ongoing love affair with Ireland. A heartfelt theme in the solo flute opens the second movement Lento (which, under the name Cavatina, gained some currency during the years of World War II in an alternative arrangement for violin and harp). The movement turns rather intense in its central section, with agitated runs and chords from the harp, but works its way to a serene close. The third movement, marked Moderato giocoso, begins with restraint but soon breaks into extraverted dance rhythms. There are some more subdued moments, but for the most part the movement is lively and dance-like, and it closes with an exciting coda.

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