Syllabus, FALL 2007
Revolution & Romanticism
IDST-2400 (Focus: Fine Arts)

Instructor: Lynn Raley | e-mail

Meeting time: T/Th 2:45-4:00

Location: AC 152

Office Hrs (AC 248): MW 10-11

Schedule

Writing

Listening

NetJuke

Grading

Research

Announcements

THE BASICS OF SONATA FORM
[courtesy of the website: http://www.fact-index.com/s/so/sonata_form.html]

Most first movements of large works in the Classical (and Romantic) periods of music were in what is called "sonata" form. "Sonata" comes from "sonar" or, to "sound," and sonata form is a NARRATIVE form, in the sense that it tells the "story of the notes" -- on Copland's "sheerly musical plane." As humans we all understand departure and return, the principle on which it is based.

NOTE: "Keys" are referred to below, as well as the "major" and "minor" modes. If you don't grasp the concept of "keys," that's o.k. You can still understand the classical sonata form movement in its simplest version, which consists of the following sections:

Exposition - the main themes of the piece are played for the first time. This section can be further divided into:

  • FIRST THEME (sometimes called FIRST GROUP)- this consists of one or more themes, all of them in the home key. So if the piece is in C major, all of the music in the first group will be in C major.
  • BRIDGE (transitional material) - in this section the composer modulates from the key of the first subject to the key of the second.
  • SECOND THEME (also called Subordinate Theme by some) - one or more themes in a different key to the first group. If the first group is in a major key, the second group will usually be in the dominant, that is to say in a key a perfect fifth higher, so that if the original key is C major, the key of the music of the second group will be G major. If the first group is in a minor key, the second group will generally be in the relative major, so that if the original key is C minor, the second group will be in E flat major. The material in this section will usually be completely different to that of the first group, and sometimes will be in marked contrast to it. For example, the first group material may be strident and strongly rhythmic, with the second group more lyrical.
  • CLOSING THEME (or Cadence Theme, or Codetta) - a kind of finishing off section, which will bring the exposition section to a close with a perfect cadence in the same key as the second group. Often the codetta contains a sequence of themes, each of which arrives at a perfect cadence. The whole of the exposition may then be repeated.

Development - this generally starts in the same key as the exposition ended, and may move through many different keys during its course. It will usually consist of one or more themes from the exposition altered and occasionally juxtaposed with new material or themes. The development usually has a high degree of tonal and rhythmic instability when compared to the other sections. The development section may be quite short, or it may be extremely lengthy. At the end, the music will return to the home key and lead up to the:

Recapitulation - this is an altered repeat of the exposition, and consists of:

  • FIRST THEME - usually in exactly the same form as it appeared in the exposition.
  • BRIDGE - now altered so that it does not change key, but remains in the piece's home key.
  • SECOND THEME and CLOSING THEME - usually in the same form as in the exposition, but now in the same key as the first group. If the first group was in a minor key, the second group and codetta may be shifted into the minor for the recapitulation, or they may be in the parallel major key (e.g., C minor/C major).

(It should be noted that the above terminology is not universally used: some writers speak of the first and second subjects rather than groups, others speak of the principal or main theme and the subordinate theme.)