Sonata Form

The homophonic forms of the classical period were created to accommodate the possibilities of homophonic texture. Remember that homophonic texture allows for variation and contrast to a degree not possible in polyphonic texture. The forms of the classical era were meant to accommodate the variational and contrasting possibilities inherent in homophony. Of the classical forms; theme and variations, minuet and trio and rondo, sonata form (or sometimes called sonata- allegro form) was the most important. Most sonata forms are in moderately fast to fast tempos. A slow tempo does not create the kind of conflict and contrast that a sonata form banks on, particularly in the development section. So most sonata forms are fast in order to create the sense of movement and tension.

The large scale sections of sonata form are exposition, development and recapitulation. (then usually a coda). It is in the exposition that the themes are exposed. Similar to a book, a play or a movie within the first five minutes of the story a character or two is introduced. Usually the first character you meet is the most important character just because they are the first character. What ever relationships are revealed early are the relations that will carry through. So it makes sense the first section of a piece in sonata form is going to be the point where the themes are introduced. Typically the first theme is the more dramatic of the two, it galvanizes one's attention, it grabs one's attention. The second theme is typically the lyric theme. The greater the contrast between theme one and theme two the greater the potential drama, because the greater the difference between the characters the greater the need for resolution between those differences and between the characters the more dramatic the piece will be. So the first theme is more dramatic then the lyric theme second theme. These two themes are separated by a segment of the movement called a modulating bridge. The word bridge means transition, the second theme is typically more quite and then less pushy then the first theme needs to be introduced separately, the second theme would occur after the more aggressive first theme it will sound unimportant, it is supposed to sound like a main theme. The way composers make the two themes sound important is by putting a frame around them. So that's what a bridge does, it introduces a theme by leading up to it and then often having an open cadence right before the 2^nd theme. The modulation during the bridge of the exposition is one of the main ways of creating contrast in sonata form. The two themes in different keys during the exposition and later in the same keys during the recapitulation is a another way of providing contrast albeit subliminal or subtle. The listener doesn't necessarily notice the harmonic contrast on a conscious level, but does detect a different key. Sonata form is two things at once. It is a way of dealing with two themes and it is a way of dealing with two harmonic areas. Because theme one is in the tonic, theme two is somewhere else and the tonic doesn't return again until the beginning of the recap. Theme two concludes with a section of music called a cadence or cadential material. A general rule of thumb you can say about the exposition is that if the piece is in the minor key the second theme modulates to the major. However if the first theme is in major, the second theme is in the key of the dominant or five steps away. Modulating bridge and cadence material are all based on the motives heard before.

After the exposition introduces all the themes it comes to a close and the development section starts. The development is built entirely on previously heard material. The development is also not characterized by any strong sense of the tonic. The development is like an extended modulating bridge. It will contain constant momentum while something dramatic is done to the two themes. The two themes are played with clever techniques such as polyphonic exploration, open cadences, fragmentation, re orchestration, modulation, sequences, dynamic contrast and open cadence.