Part 14 (2/2)

157. _Sonata-form_ (sometimes called _sonata-allegro_) is a plan for the construction of instrumental music (sonatas, quartets, symphonies, etc.), in which three rather definite divisions always occur, the third division being a more or less literal repet.i.tion of the first.

These _three parts of sonata-form_ with their usual subdivisions are:

I. EXPOSITION

(1) Princ.i.p.al theme (or first subject).

(2) Link-episode (or modulation group).

(3) Secondary theme (or song group), always in a nearly related key.

(4) Closing group.

(5) Coda.

II. DEVELOPMENT SECTION

Treating the themes introduced in the exposition in an almost infinite variety of fas.h.i.+ons, according to the principles of thematic development. (See Sec. 148).

III. RECAPITULATION (OR REPRISE)

Consisting essentially of the same subdivisions found in the _exposition_, but differing from this first section in one essential point, viz., that instead of stating the secondary theme in a _related_ key, the entire recapitulation is in the _princ.i.p.al_ key. This third section is always followed by a coda (which may either be very short or quite extended), bringing the whole movement to a more definite close.

The second part of _sonata-form_ (the development section) is sometimes the longest and most intricate of the three divisions, and it is at this point that the composer has an opportunity of displaying to the full his originality and inventive skill. It is princ.i.p.ally because of this development section that the sonata is so far superior as a _form_ to its predecessors. For an a.n.a.lyzed example of _sonata-form_, see Appendix E. The student is advised to take other sonatas and go through the first movements with a view to finding at least the three main divisions mentioned above. In some cases the form will of course be so irregular that all the parts indicated cannot be discovered, but the general outlines of the scheme will always be present.

158. A _sonatina_, as its name implies, is a little sonata. It differs from the sonata proper princ.i.p.ally in having little or no development, the second section being of slight importance as compared with the corresponding section of a sonata.

A _grand sonata_ is like an ordinary sonata in form, but is of unusually large dimensions.

159. _Program music_ is instrumental music which is supposed to convey to the listener an image or a succession of images that will arouse in him certain emotions which have been previously aroused in the composer's mind by some scene, event, or idea. The clue to the general idea is usually given at the beginning of the music in the form of a poem or a short description of the thing in the mind of the composer, but there are many examples in which there is no clue whatsoever except the t.i.tle of the composition.

_Program music_ represents a mean between _pure music_ (cf.

the piano sonata or the string quartet) on the one hand, and _descriptive music_ (in which actual imitations of bird-calls, whistles, the blowing of the wind, the galloping of horses, the rolling of thunder, etc., occur), on the other. Most program music is written for the orchestra, examples being Liszt's ”The Preludes,” Strauss' ”Till Eulenspiegel,” etc.

160. A _symphonic poem_ (or _tone poem_) is an orchestral composition of large dimensions (resembling the symphony in size), usually embodying the program idea. It has no prescribed form and seems indeed to be often characterized by an almost total lack of design, but there are also examples of symphonic poems in which the same theme runs throughout the entire composition, being adapted at the various points at which it occurs to the particular moods expressed by the _program_ at those points.

The _symphonic poem_ was invented by Liszt (1811-1886) and has since been used extensively by Strauss, Saint-Saens and others. It came into existence as a part of the general movement which has caused the fugue and the sonata successively to go out of fas.h.i.+on, viz., the tendency to invent forms which would not hamper the composer in any way, but would leave him absolutely free to express his ideas in his own individual way.

CHAPTER XVI

TERMS RELATING TO VOCAL MUSIC

161. An _anthem_ is a sacred choral composition, usually based on Biblical or liturgical[34] words. It may or may not have an instrumental accompaniment, and is usually written in four parts, but may have five, six, eight, or more.

[Footnote 34: A _liturgy_ is a prescribed form or method of conducting a religious service, and the parts sung in such a service (as _e.g._, the holy communion, baptism, etc.), are referred to as the _musical_ liturgy.]

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