3.7 How identity shapes form

We think of ourselves as being born with certain innate abilities and enthusiasms. Our vision of a fulfilling life is to maximize these gifts and desires. The task of a guidance counselor is to help us sort this out: The counselor assesses our strengths and recommends a path that will make greatest use of them.

In a sense, a composer acts as a “guidance counselor” to his or her material: The aim is to enable the material to determine its form, to allow the material a controlling influence over how its life is lived.

If we felt that we had an innate ability for creative work but circumstances bound us to a desk job, we would feel stifled. Similarly, if the singular qualities of a musical material were to be ignored or overlooked by the composer, the resulting music might feel rigid, arbitrary or unsatisfying. A composer’s task is to listen very carefully to his or her material and extrapolate an appropriate destiny.

In order to explore this principle closely, we are going to study how two traditional forms or procedures--- Sonata Form and fugue —are influenced by the material in works by Mozart and Bartok. First, we will introduce a “standard” description of Sonata form and fugue . Then, we will demonstrate how the Mozart and Bartok works depart from these conventions and why.

Sonata form was one of the primary means of creating extended movements in the Classical era. Sonata Form s divided into three main sections: The exposition ; the development ; and the recapitulation.

Sonata Form is based on harmonic contrast . The exposition introduces the contrast: First, it presents the primary theme in the home key, called the tonic . Then, the music shifts to a contrasting key. Often, a second theme is introduced, to emphasize the new key.

The development heightens the tension introduced in the exposition by roving among many keys. Thematic fragmentation enables the harmony to progress quickly. Emphasis on the tonic is avoided at all costs, as this would undercut the harmonic suspense.

The recapitulation returns to the tonic. It offers a full restatement of the exposition but with one fundamental difference. The harmonic tension is reconciled: Both the primary and second themes are played in the tonic; all of the musical material is united within one key. A concluding section, called a Coda , typically rounds out the movement.

Many themes in the classical era were comprised of two halves of equal length. The Finale of Mozart’s Symphony No. 39 opens with a balanced theme:

The primary theme of Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in g-minor could have been symmetric.

However, it isn’t: It is extended, leading to an emphatic cadence. Many of Mozart’s symphonic themes are asymmetric, but this theme has another idiosyncrasy: The extension causes the theme to overlap or elide with the music that follows. At the opening, a motoric accompaniment introduced the theme. When the theme repeats, it’s the other way round: The theme enters first , followed by the accompaniment.