Criteria for a Theory of Nineteenth-Century Sonata Form

Horton, Julian

doi:10.11116/mta.4.2.1

Cited by 17 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The compositional procedures identified above are by no means unique to slow movements – for instance, Horton's (2017b) formal‐functional ‘proliferation’ and Jarvis and Peterson's (2019) phrase‐expanding ‘reroute’ are both at work – although the ample time one has to listen (afforded by the slow tempo) does change the aesthetic (or affective) impact of these procedures 25 . Instantiating proliferation, the consequent presents four separate ideas, each with its own rhythmic‐motivic profile and form‐functional ambiguity (bars 6–8, 9–13 2 , 13 2 –15 1 , 15 1 –16 2 ).…”

Section: Analytical Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Brahms's ‘Musical Prose’ Reconsidered

LIU¹

2022

Music Analysis

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the history of Brahms reception, developing variation has emerged as a central concept. Another suggestive term, musical prose, often accompanies discussions of developing variation. Schoenberg defines musical prose as ‘the direct and straightforward presentation of ideas, without any patchwork, without mere padding and empty repetitions’ ([1947] 1975, p. 414). Current scholarship supposes that developing variation ‘provides the grammar by which musical prose is created’ (Frisch 1984, p. 9). This article restructures the relationship between developing variation and musical prose because a few prose‐like pieces by Brahms exhibit almost no developing variation. These works are representative of the hitherto unacknowledged category of ‘modular discourse’. Modular discourse presents incises that are not related by a common denominator, and many of them in quick succession. In other words, modular discourse does not rely on traditional motivic/thematic workings‐out to generate new content, unlike developing variation. To demonstrate modular procedures at intra‐rotational and inter‐rotational formal levels, I analyse the Andante sostenuto of Symphony No. 1 and the Scherzo of Symphony No. 4. Both movements are cast in multiple rotations within established forms, either sonata or ternary. In addition to discussing the logic of succession from one module to the next, I trace the formal‐functional recontextualisation of modules in later rotations to explain a perceived paradox: given the lack of development – modules often return verbatim or simply transposed – what factors are responsible for the changes in expressive meaning of later rotations?

show abstract

Section: Analytical Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A comparison of the Andante with Horton's reading of the Allegro theme of the Symphony's first movement, bars 38–70 (Horton 2017b, pp. 173–7), highlights the different aesthetic ends proliferation could serve.…”

Section: Analytical Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brahms's ‘Musical Prose’ Reconsidered

LIU¹

2022

Music Analysis

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…I further draw on Hepokoski and Darcy's work with sonata form (2006), undertaking a corpus analysis of selected twentieth-century AABAs (focused primarily on the 1960s) to determine the defaults for the form and how they changed over time and according to genre. Cortens (2014), Horton (2017), and Siu (2020) have demonstrated how corpus analysis data can help to reveal defaults in eighteenth-and nineteenth-century art music. Tovar (2017) and Geyer (2019) have used Hepokoski's dialogic model to discuss defaults in popular music repertoires, with Tovar presenting examples of approaches in Broadway songs and Geyer working with a corpus consisting of the work of a single jazz artist.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Generic Norms, Irony, and Authenticity in the AABA Songs of the Rolling Stones, 1963–1971

Carter

2021

MTO

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

AABA form was in decline in popular music in the 1960s, yet the Rolling Stones made extensive use of it at a crucial point in their career. In this article I examine the relationship between Jagger-Richards AABA songs released between 1963 and 1971 and established AABA norms. I use a corpus of 138 AABA songs (112 by other artists and 26 by Jagger-Richards) to compare the Stones’ approach to elements such as starting and ending bridge harmonies and verse melodic form with existing defaults. The analysis shows that the band’s approach to AABA in this time period bifurcates into two strategies, each associated with a tempo extreme: either (1) using the form ironically to critique wealth and privilege, or (2) employing it in a sincere way that invokes soul and gospel artists and thereby claims authenticity for the band.

show abstract

“…This invites further comparison with the first movement of Bruckner's Eighth Symphony, which defers tonal closure beyond sonata space. See Horton ().…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural Acceleration in Nielsen'sSinfonia espansiva

Tarrant¹

2019

Music Analysis

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The form of the first movement of Carl Nielsen's Sinfonia espansiva rejects the traditional three‐part sonata form in favour of an experimental two‐part strategy. The dialogue between the two types of sonata has an important impact on the way we hear this movement; from a rhetorical perspective, the absence of a normative simultaneous return of theme and key invites a new analytical approach. This is informed by the idea that the movement's form, relative to the signposts set up in its exposition, appears to speed up as it continues – a phenomenon which I call ‘structural acceleration’. The reception of Hepokoski and Darcy's Type 2 sonata is unpacked before an investigation of aspects of modular layout, tonality and cadential structure which contribute to the movement's sense of formal urgency.

show abstract

Criteria for a Theory of Nineteenth-Century Sonata Form

Cited by 17 publications

References 0 publications

Brahms's ‘Musical Prose’ Reconsidered

Brahms's ‘Musical Prose’ Reconsidered

Generic Norms, Irony, and Authenticity in the AABA Songs of the Rolling Stones, 1963–1971

Structural Acceleration in Nielsen'sSinfonia espansiva

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About