Friday, October 10, 2014

Studying the Structure of Sonatas in 18th Century Classical




As we continue our study on The Enlightenment Era, the real focus we've made is on the music phrase structure of the classical music of this time. Some forms are for entertainment and some are for dancing. The most popular form is the sonata form. This form is broken up into three themes within the sentence structure: an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation. The exposition starts with a tonic and ends with a clear open cadence, the development brings in the variety of the sentence, and the recapitulation brings back all of the music in the exposition. 
We have looked in depth into three composers who represent the excellence of the sonata form, Beethoven, Mozart, and Haydn. For this post, I have chosen a sonata by Joseph Haydn, the Keyboard Sonata No. 48 in C Major, Hob. XVI: 35: III, Finale. This sonata is relatively short, with an inviting texture to it. The song is kind of jumpy and giddy, it just puts a smile on your face. The sentences in the song are very clearly divided, and the phrases structure is that of a parallel interrupted period. After listening to the song tens of times, I think I've come up with a diagram that makes sense according to the structure of the song that my ear recognizes:

Understand that this diagram is just how I hear it. I am new to training my ear to recognize and dissect these songs, and I feel like I am slowly getting the hang of it, through trial and error at least. 

This sonata reflects The Enlightenment Era in a way that pronounces the elegance and stature of its performers and listeners. The song brings out an atmosphere of seriousness, but playfulness all at once. On top of that, it was composed by the great Joseph Haydn, an idol of The Enlightenment Era. Although this is a bit different from the string quartets and symphonies we have been listening to in class, I believe that this sonata still is a prime example of the classical music of the 18th century.  

No comments:

Post a Comment