Adagio, 4/4 – Allegro con brio
2/2 - sonata form
I. Exposition
The music of the
The first
theme is light and fluent, it is repeated then concluded from one of its
motifs. ♫
The music of the transitional part is extremely
energetic, and it could very well be an independent theme. When it is
concluded, it is immediately followed by →
the second theme, which is light and playful; first played by the aerophones, then the string
instruments; The theme starts again, and is concluded from its material.
♫
The next transition has forte dynamics,
followed by the minor version of the second theme in
bass. ♫
Then an energetic transition follows in fortissimo, after
which comes the (almost unnoticed) closing theme. The next, downward moving short transition prepares the repetition of
the exposition.
According to the rules of the
sonata form, the so called theme
introductory line is repeated.
II. Elaboration
The elaboration can be divided
into three short sections.
In each sections we hear the
arrangement of some motifs from the first and second.
1./ In the first section,
the combination of the motifs of the first
and second theme form a short phrase, which is concluded by a chord, then repeated
twice. (The staccato-motif of the first theme, and the so called syncoped-motif
from the second theme forms the phrase.) staccato - syncope
From this point on the music
continues in minor tonality, and we hear one of the motifs from the first theme repeated three times.
2./ In the short second
section a motif is repeated four times.
3./ In the third section
the beginning motif of the first theme is in arrangement and is repeated. Meanwhile the dynamics reach
into fortissimo – this is the climax of the movement – then after three
powerful orchestral chords, the notes of the slow, downward moving transition
signals the coming of the reexposition.
III. Reexposition
In the reprise the first theme
is the most powerful, played by the whole orchestra.
It is repeated, and then followed by a short elaboration section. The transition between the first and
second theme is skipped, while after the beginning of the second theme, the
musical material is identical with the material of the exposition.
IV. Coda
The coda can be divided into
two sections, where the motifs play a major role. Observe the PowerPoint presentation!
II. movement
Andante cantabile
con moto 3/8 – sonataform
I. Exposition
The first theme is elevated to the classical
music style, a minuet that resembles dancing in fugato treatment. ♫
The second theme is similar to the first, and it
is repeated in variations. Then the consequent
clause (consequent clause) follows, which can be seen as a
conclusion. ♫
The rhythm pattern played on
the kettledrums gives the root note of the closing theme. ♫
The exposition is closed by
the step of fourth of the first theme ( 1-4 ). (This is
the first two notes of the melody. The step of fourth, then, is a motif
consisting of two sounds; in the solfege system: do-fa; fourth – in music it is
the fourth note from the root note; in C-major: c-d-e-f, the fourth note is f.-
so: c-f.)
According to the rules of the
sonataform, the introductory line of the exposition is repeated.
II. Elaboration
The elaboration section is
short, extremely simple, but still “classical”. After the initial accords we
hear the repetitions of the “fourth-motif”.
The section is supported by the rhythmic pulse of the string
instruments and the bassoon, which is
real poetic.
The continuation is similar. The
pulsing rhythm is now played by the kettledrums.
At the end of the elaboration section, the dynamics reach a smaller climax.
III. Reexposition
The first
theme comes with a counterpoint
on cello, then on string
instruments. After this point everything happens concordant with the
exposition.
IV. Coda
First the first theme can be heard (this time not in fugato), then we hear one of the motifs of the
theme, followed by the conclusion of both the motif and the theme. Then the
music of the elaboration section begins again, but after the sounds of the horn, the coda as well as the movement
is concluded.
III. movement: Menuetto
Allegro molto e vivace, 3/4
A/ According to the
musical practice of the age, in this movement there should be a minuet present,
but it is only a minuet in its name, since Beethoven in fact composed a “modern
scherzo”.
Its tempo is extremely dynamic.
Its melodic line is in fact a scalar figure. It is repeated, then the music
continues with the shifts of motifs, rhythm, and harmony.
The use of flowing charts is
not possible.
B/ Trio
The trio, according to its
quality, is the complement of the minuet; its music sounds “on one tone”. Its
rhythm is similar to the minuet’s. The orchestration is brilliant and artistic.
Criticism of the era wrote: „The trio’s
sweet sounds are beyond description.”
A/ The minuet is repeated without alternation.
While listening to the
movement, pay attention
Ø to the rhythmic and
dynamic shifts,
Ø to the beauty of
the orchestral sound, the tone shifts,
Ø to the motivic
details created from the melody.
Furthermore, pay attention to
Beethoven’s musical ideas, his inventive magic in creating richness from
simplicity.
In this case we need not
follow the flowing chart, or divert our thoughts towards the musical process.
We should only enjoy and take delight in the music.
Observe
the PowerPoint presentation!
IV. movement
Finale: Adagio – Allegro molto e vivace, 2/4
Sonata form
The movement’s music can be
described with words such as extreme, brilliant joy, positive outlook on life;
Beethoven is at the beginning of his composer career. The music is soaring,
wallowing, elegant; it has no deep message, which was perfect for the
aristocratic saloon’s milieu.
The movement is preceded by a
short, introductory music in slow
tempo, this is the Adagio, and its
role is to prepare the movement. The music is somewhat solemn, ceremonial.
The movement’s music and the mood of its first theme is in contrast with the
Adagio: the tempo is fast and lively. ♫
I. Exposition
The mood of the introductory music creates expectation, is
serious and ceremonial, however, the melody of the entering first theme is nimble, lively,
playful, vigorous and joyful. Its melody is an upward moving scale-motif, /the
dominant motif of the whole movement/; and after it ends it is concluded by
its musical material. ♫
The musical material of the transition section is again determined
by the scale-motif; it first moves downward, then upward twice played on low toned string instruments. ♫
The mood of the second theme is
fluent, playful, upward swinging. One of the motifs in the melody is
sequentially developed, with increasing dynamics. ♫
This is followed by the closing theme (a short
motif consisting of three notes), which can be heard four times by turns in
piano and forte volume. ♫
II. Elaboration
The elaboration is short, in
which again the scale-motif has the
main role. The mood is joyous and playful throughout. The motif is first played
on violins, it is repeated several times, then
without any transition the orchestra switches to fortissimo, and then the motivic play continues. Beethoven uses the motif in quick
shifts on the musical instruments and groups of instruments just like high
spirits shift from one member to the other among merry folk. (Notice, that the
melody of the scale-figure is different from the melody of the scale-motif; their
sign is also different!)
After gradual amplification we
reach the climax of the elaboration.
This is followed by the beginning of the first theme several times – just like
at the end of the exposition –, and after a short transition we hear the
reexposition.
III. Reexposition
A shorter version of the
reexposition (this concerns the section after the first theme) repeats the
exposition. We can see the difference when observing and comparing the lines of
the flowing charts. Beethoven at the end of the reexposition uses repeated
dissonant hold, then begins the first theme five times before the coda begins. Observe the PowerPoint presentation!
IV. Coda
In the beginning of the coda
the first theme can be heard, followed by the
repetition of the scale-motif, which reaches fortissimo. Then we hear a new
motif, the coda-motif, the melody of which is
like a march. After it is repeated, it is accompanied by the scale-motif, then
the movement – and the symphony – reaches its end through energetic forte
concluding accords. ♫
Dear Listener!
After listening to the
movement several times and getting acquainted with the detailed analysis, we do
not need to follow the flow chart anymore; we can safely distinguish through
our hearing each musical theme, transition, arrangement etc.
The musical themes are
cheerful, entertaining, the motivic play sounds fluently, but be aware, that
classical music cannot be listened to as background music!! We shouldn’t only pay attention, we must also focus! – otherwise we lose track of the
flow of the music.
I am sure that this music – no
matter how hard a day we had –, will make us feel better and forget our grief
and annoyance in life; it helps us to get away from it all.
Romain Rolland (1866-1944) French
novelist, essayist, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915, a
professor of the History of Music at the Sorbonne, wrote the following in his
novel Vie de Beethoven:
“Beethoven, who lived alone and unhappy in
Wien,
retreats
to the memory of his homeland, and his feelings of that time
echo
inside his soul, and in this symphony.”
Index
adagio italian – (to
be performed) real slowly; tempo regulation; the slow movement of symphonies,
sonatas, chamber music pieces is generally called adagio (the adagio is usually
the 2. movement, or rarely the 3. movement; a piece (movement) of slow,
intimate mood < back
chromaticism greek-latin
–
enrichment; a twelve degree tonal system that inserts altered half notes into
whole notes. Think about the keys of a piano: if from the note c, we reach the
next c note by tapping each white key, then we played the C-major scale; if we
tap the black keys as well, either downward or upward, then we can enrich the
scale; it was also used in antiquity and was favored in the madrigal era: it
expresses heightened emotions; Mozart used it frequently, Beethoven in
moderation < back
pathetic greek-latin
– 1. full with impetuous emotions; passionate 2. grand, majestic, soaring 3. the
aesthetic dictionary refers to the word pathos in connection with pathetic (in
greek: pathos), which means: suffering – aesthetic quality (Among the
selections you may read more about this in: Introduction to aesthetics. More in
the Aesthetic Dictionary!) 4. The Pathetique – Tchaikovsky,
Pjotr Iljics (1840-1893) A generally accepted adjective referring to his
symphony that was composed in b-minor in 1893. < back
period greek-latin
– section; period, era 2. repeating, returning period 3. music: a unit
consisting of several (at least two) musical phrases; a.m. „körfutás”, körmondat,??? a musical section generally
consisting of 8 metres, whch is a closed unit in itself (Think about the first
line of the Hungarian folk song that we saw in the examples: “A csitári hegyek
alatt régen leesett a hó,”) < back
staccato italian – detached, as in shortened; it
refers to the precise separation of specific notes; its opposite is legato (bound),
where the notes must be played continuously and without interruption < back
syncope greek-latin
– (a.m. „elmetszés”, „szétvágás”)???
the linking of the unaccented member of the given meter with the accented member
of the following meter, which involves stress displacement and a metrical and
dynamical articulation different than usual; its usage brings about tension in
music, and uneasiness among the audience
< back
consequent clause – usually
composed from a musical theme or from one motif of the musical theme; it is a
motivic material, a melody that concludes the theme < back