Sonata form
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Sonata form refers to both the standard layout of an entire musical composition and more specifically to the standardized form of the first movement. The latter is also referred to as sonata-allegro form. Sonata form is both a way of organizing the composing of a work and a way of analyzing an existing work. While described and named in the early 19th century, the models for the form were works of the classical period, most specifically Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, and the form is rooted in the schematics described in the late 18th century. The standard description of the sonata form is rooted in the common practice period of harmony, though more modern descriptions of theorists such as Heinrich Schenker and Charles Rosen argue that there is a single tonal background which defines all sonata movements.
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Use of the Term
A sonata-allegro movement is divided into sections. It may begin with an introduction, which is generally slower than the main movement, and then proceeds to the exposition. The exposition presents the primary thematic material for the movement: one or two theme groups, often in contrasting styles and in opposing keys, bridged by a transition. The exposition typically concludes with a closing theme and/or a codetta. The transition leads to the development where the harmonic and textural possibilities of the thematic material are explored, and which then transitions to the recapitulation where the thematic material returns in the tonic key. The work may conclude with a coda, or "tail" beyond the final cadence of the recapitulation.
Sonata form is also used to describe the layout of a multi-movement work. The three movement or concerto form has a sonata-allegro first movement, a slow movement as the second movement, and a fast movement, though not necessarily an allegro, as the final movement. The four movement or symphony form adds a dance movement either before or after the slow movement.
Pieces for orchestra that bear the form of a sonata are referred to as concertos or symphonies, with or without soloists, respectively. Chamber works in sonata form are typically named after the ensemble: for example, string quartet, piano trio, wind quintet, or for the instrument playing with piano accompaniment. For example, a "cello sonata" generally refers to a sonata for cello and piano, whereas a "sonata for cello solo" would be for the cello alone.
From this point forward, this article uses sonata form interchangeably with sonata-allegro form to refer to the form of a single movement.
Outline of sonata form
The basic outline of a sonata-allegro movement
The standard description of the sonata form is as follows:
- Introduction – This section is optional, or may be reduced to a minimum. If it is extended, it is generally slower than the main section, and focuses on the dominant key. It may or may not contain material which is later stated in the exposition. The introduction increases the weight of the movement, and also permits the composer to begin the exposition with a theme that would be too light to start on its own, as in Haydn's Drumroll Symphony. Usually, but not always, the introduction is excluded from the exposition repeat.
Occasionally the material of introduction reappears in its original tempo later in the movement. Often, this occurs in the coda, as in Mozart's string quintet K. 593, the Drumroll Symphony, or Beethoven's Pathetique Piano Sonata.
- Exposition – the primary thematic material for the movement is presented. This section can be further divided into:
- First subject 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.
- Transition – in this section the composer modulates from the key of the first subject to the key of the second.
- Second subject group – 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 of the second subject is often different in rhythm or mood from that of the first subject (frequently, it is more lyrical), but this is not always so; see below under "Monothematic expositions".
- Codetta – the purpose of this section is to 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 – 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 and may include new material or themes - though exactly what is acceptable practice is a famous point of contention. The development varies greatly in length from piece to piece, but almost always shows a greater degree of tonal, harmonic and rhythmic instability than the other sections. At the end, the music will turn towards the home key and enter the recapitulation.
- Recapitulation – this is an altered repeat of the exposition, and consists of:
- First subject group – usually in exactly the same form as it appeared in the exposition.
- Transition – now altered so that it does not change key, but remains in the piece's home key.
- Second subject group and codetta – 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. On rare occasions may be in the parallel major key (for example, C minor/C major).
- Coda After the final cadence of the recapitulation, the movement may continue into a "tail", which will contain material from the movement proper. Codas, when present, vary considerably in length, but, like introductions, are not part of the "argument" of the work, however it ends with a perfect cadence in the home key. Codas may be quite brief tailpieces, or they may very long and elaborate; a famous example is the finale of Beethoven's Eighth Symphony.
Some, in lieu of the above terminology, refer to the "principal theme" and "second theme" (abbreviated P. and S., respectively) instead of the first and second subject groups as well as the "closing" (abbreviated K.) instead of the codetta. Parts of the sonata form are also sometimes called the "main" and "subordinate theme" or the first and second "subjects".
Monothematic expositions
It is not necessarily the case that the move to the dominant key in the exposition is marked by a new theme. Haydn in particular was fond of using the opening theme, often in a truncated or otherwise altered form, to announce the move to the dominant. Mozart, despite his prodigious melodic gift, also occasionally wrote such expositions, for instance in the piano sonata K. 570 or the string quintet K. 593. Such expositions are often called monothematic, meaning that one theme serves to establish the opposition between tonic and dominant keyes. This term is misleading: most "monothematic" works have multiple themes: most works so labelled have additional themes in the second subject group. Only on occasion (for example, in Haydn's string quartet Op. 50 no. 1) did composers perform the tour de force of writing a complete sonata exposition with just one theme: another more recent example is Edmund Rubbra's 2nd Symphony.
That monothematic expositions usually have additional theme is used by Charles Rosen to illustrate his theory that the Classical sonata form's crucial element of the is that the arrival of the dominant be dramatized in some way. Using a new theme was a very common way to achieve this effect, but other resources such as changes in texture, salient cadences and so on were also accepted practice.
Modulation to keys other than the dominant
The key of the second subject may be something other than the dominant or the relative major. About halfway through his career, Beethoven began to experiment with new keys for the second subject group. These keys likewise move upward along the circle of fifths, but three or four fifths instead of just one. Thus,the second subject of the Waldstein sonata for piano is in E major, four fifths higher (C -> G -> D -> A -> E) than the tonic key of C. The Hammerklavier sonata Op. 106 moves three fifths higher (Bb -> F -> C -> G).
It is a open question why Beethoven never modulated just two fifths higher, a major second; possibly this is because it might be perceived as a crude stepwise modulation. (For a modern criticism of such modulations, see the discussion of the "truck driver's gear change" in Modulation (music).)
Modulations within the first subject group
The first subject group need not be entirely in the tonic key. In the more complex sonata expositions there can be brief modulations to fairly remote keys, followed by reassertion of the tonic. Thus, Mozart's String quintet in C, K. 515 visits C minor, Db major, and D major before finally moving to the dominant of G major.
Sonata form in concertos
An important variant on traditional sonata-allegro form is found in the first movement of the Classical concerto. Here, the orchestra usually prepares for the entrance of the soloist by playing some of the themes that will be heard during the main part of the movement, a sort of introduction but in the main tempo. The soloist then enters, sometimes with material of its own (as in Mozart's twentieth piano concerto memorably, and others), and continues with a sonata-form exposition usually, but not always, closely related to that opening orchestral introduction. (With Mozart, for instance, some of the most memorable themes of that opening orchestral tutti are held off until the development. In his twenty-fifth piano concerto one of them, which hadn't been heard since then, becomes the main subject of the development. One of the earliest books ever devoted to his concertos, by Cuthbert Girdlestone, pointed this out often.)
Towards the end of the recapitulation, there is usually a cadenza for the soloist alone. This has an improvisatory character (it may or may not actually be improvised) and serves, generally, to prolong the harmonic tension on a dominant chord before the orchestra ends the piece in the tonic.
The history of sonata form
- Main article: History of sonata form
Sonata form arose during the late Baroque era, came to dominate many forms of musical composition during the Classical era, and was defined and made central to concert music in the Romantic era. It has continued to be influential through the subsequent history of classical music.
Sonata form and other musical forms
Sonata form shares characteristics with both binary form and ternary form. In terms of key relationships, it is very like binary form, with a first half moving from the home key to the dominant and the second half moving back again (this is why sonata form is sometimes known as compound binary form); in other ways it is very like ternary form, being divided into three sections, the first (exposition) of a particular character, the second (development) in contrast to it, the third section (recapitulation) the same as the first.
The purpose of the sonata form
The sonata form is a guide to composers as to the schematic for their works, for interpreters to understand the grammar and meaning of a work, and listeners to understand the significance of musical events. A host of musical details are determined by the harmonic meaning of a particular note, chord or phrase. The sonata form, because it describes the shape and hiearchy of a movement, tells performers what to emphasize and how to shape phrases of music.
In the simplest example, playing of a cadence should be in relationship to the importance of that cadence in the overall form of the work. More important cadences are emphasized by pauses, dynamics, sustaining and so on. False or deceptive cadences are given some of the characteristics of a real cadence, and then this impression is undercut by going forward more quickly.
For this reason changes in performance practice bring changes to the understanding of the relative importance of various aspects of the sonata form. In the classical era, the importance of sections and cadences and underlying harmonic progressions gives way to an emphasis on themes. The clarity of strongly differentiated major and minor sections gives way to a more equivocal sense of key and mode. These changes produce changes in performance practice: when sections are clear, then there is less need to emphasize the points of articulation. When they are less clear, greater importance is placed on varying the tempo during the course of the music to give "shape" to the music.
Over the last half century a critical tradition of examining scores, autographs, annotations and the historical record has changed, sometimes subtly, occasionally dramatically, the way in which the sonata form is viewed. It has led to changes in the way works are edited, for example, the phrasing of Beethoven's Piano works has undergone a shift to longer and longer phrases which are not always in lock step with the cadences and other formal markers of the sections of the underlying sonata form. Compare the recordings of Schnabel from the beginning of the recording era, with those of Barenboim, and then Pratt shows a distinct shift in how the structure of the sonata form is presented to the listener over time.
For composers, the sonata form is like the plot of a play or movie script, describing when the crucial plot points are, and the kinds of material that should be used to connect them into a coherent and orderly whole. At different times the sonata form has been taken to be quite rigid, and at other times a freer interpretation has been generally considered permissible. Questions such as whether themes may be presented in the "wrong" keys or the "reverse order" show eras with a stricter understanding of sonata form.
Musical criticism and sonata form
Because of its centrality to classical music, sonata form has been a topic of interest to musical critics ever since its origin. For full discussion, see Criticism and sonata form.