Part 13 (1/2)
The word _counterpoint_ comes from the three words ”_punctus contra punctum_,” meaning ”point against point.” The word point as here used refers to the _punctus_--one of the neumae of the mediaeval system, these neumae being the immediate predecessors of modern notes.
Both vocal and instrumental music have been written in contrapuntal style. The familiar two- and three-part ”inventions” by Bach are excellent examples of instrumental counterpoint, while such choruses as those in ”The Messiah” by Handel ill.u.s.trate the highest type of vocal counterpoint.
140. _Imitation_ is the repet.i.tion by one part, of a subject or theme previously introduced by another part. If the imitation is exact, the term _strict imitation_ is applied, but if only approximate, then the term _free imitation_ is used in referring to it. The repet.i.tion need not have the exact pitches of the subject in order to be _strict_; on the contrary the imitation is usually at the interval of an octave, or a fifth, or a second, etc. Fig. 57 shows an example of strict imitation in which the _third_ part comes in an octave _lower_ than the first part.
141. A _canon_ is a contrapuntal composition in the style of strict imitation, one part repeating exactly (but at any interval) what another part has played or sung. The term ”canonic style” is sometimes applied to music in which the imitation is not exact. An example of three-part canon is given in Fig. 57.
[Ill.u.s.tration: CANON IN THREE VOICES, IN THE UNISON AND OCTAVE
Fig. 57. MOZART]
The word _canon_ means _law_, and was applied to this particular form of composition because the rules relating to its composition were invariable. It is because of this non-flexibility that the _canon_ is so little used as a form at the present time: the modern composer demands a plan of writing that is capable of being varied to such an extent as to give him room for the exercise of his own particular individuality of conception, and this the _canon_ does not do.
For this same reason too the fugue and the sonata have successively gone out of fas.h.i.+on and from Schumann down to the present time composers have as it were created their own forms, the difficulty in listening arising from the fact that no one but the composer himself could recognize the form _as_ a form because it had not been adopted to a great enough extent by other composers to make it in any sense universal.
The result is that in much present-day music it is very difficult for the hearer to discover any trace of familiar design, and the impression made by such music is in consequence much less definite than that made by music of the cla.s.sic school. It is probable that a reaction from this state of affairs will come in the near future, for in any art it is necessary that there should be at least enough semblance of structure to make the art work capable of standing as a universal thing rather than as the mere temporary expression of some particular composer or of some period of composition.
142. The common _school round_ is an example of canon, each voice repeating exactly what the first voice has sung, while this first voice is going on with its melody. The _round_ is therefore defined as a variety of canon in which the imitation is always in unison with the subject.
143. The _fugue_ (Latin, _fuga_ = flight) is a form of contrapuntal composition in which the imitation is always in the dominant key, _i.e._, a fifth above or a fourth below. The imitation (called ”the answer”) may be an exact repet.i.tion of the subject (sometimes called ”the question”), but is usually not so.
The _fugue_ differs from the canon also in that the subject is given in complete form before the answer begins, while in the canon the imitation begins while the subject is still going on. The _fugue_ is not nearly so strict in form as the canon and gives the composer much greater opportunity for expressing musical ideas. A canon may be perfect in _form_ and yet be very poor music; this same statement might of course be made about any form, but is especially true in the stricter ones.
CHAPTER XV
TERMS RELATING TO FORMS AND STYLES (_Continued_)
(Sections 144 to 160 relate particularly to terms used in descriptions of _monophonic_ music[33].)
[Footnote 33: There is a very p.r.o.nounced disagreement among theorists as to what terms are to be used in referring to certain forms and parts of forms and it seems impossible to make a compromise that will satisfy even a reasonable number. In order to make the material in this chapter consistent with itself therefore it has been thought best by the author to follow the terminology of some single recognized work on form, and the general plan of monophonic form here given is therefore that of the volume called _Musical Form_, by Bussler-Cornell.]
144. A _phrase_ is a short musical thought (at least two measures in length) closing with either a complete or an incomplete cadence. The typical _phrase_ is four measures long. The two-measure _phrase_ is often called _section_. The word _phrase_ as used in music terminology corresponds with the same word as used in language study.
145. A _period_ is a little piece of music typically eight measures long, either complete in itself or forming one of the clearly defined divisions of a larger form. The _period_ (when complete in itself) is the smallest monophonic form.
The essential characteristic of the _regular period_ is the fact that it usually consists of two balanced phrases (often called _antecedent_ and _consequent_ or _thesis_ and _ant.i.thesis_), the first phrase giving rise to the feeling of incompleteness (by means of a cadence in another key, deceptive cadence, etc.,) the second phrase giving the effect of completeness by means of a definite cadence at the close.
The second half of the period is sometimes a literal repet.i.tion of the first half, in all respects except the cadence, but in many cases too it is a repet.i.tion of only one of the elements--rhythm, intervals, or general outline. Figs.
58 and 59 show examples of both types. The principle almost invariably holds that the simpler the music (cf. folk-tunes) the more obvious the form of the period, while the more complex the music, the less regular the period.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 58. MOZART]
[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 59. SCHUBERT]
146. The _primary forms_ are built up by combining two or more periods.
The _small two-part primary form_ (often called _song-form_ or _Lied-form_) consists of two periods so placed that the second const.i.tutes a consequent or ant.i.thesis to the first. The second half of this second period is often exactly the same as the second half of the first period, thus binding the two periods together into absolute unity.
The theme of the choral movement of the Ninth Symphony (Beethoven) quoted below is a perfect example of this form. Other examples are ”Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes,” and ”The Last Rose of Summer.”