caplin sonata notes

7/28/2019 Caplin Sonata Notes

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MUSC 242, Krumbholz

William E. Caplin: Classical Form: a Theory of Formal Functions for the Instrumental Music of

Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven (1998)

EXPOSITION:SLOW INTRODUCTION: the fast movement of a sonata movement is sometimes preceded by a slow

introduction, which is optional to the form. A slow introduction typically invokes a solemn,serious tone, and yet it also arouses a strong sense of anticipation of the livelier character

expressed by the rest of the movement. Of all the large-scale units of classical form, slow

introductions are the least predictable in their organization, so it is difficult to generalize aboutthe internal phrase structure and formal functionality. Slow introductions typically begin with

tonic harmony of the home key and generally remain in that key throughout. Prominent

tonicizations and an emphasis on minor modality (in movements that are otherwise in major) are

common. In the majority of cases, the harmonic goal is the dominant of the home key,articulated by a HC (or dominant arrival) and followed by a SOD (standing on the dominant).

MAIN THEME: the main theme of a sonata exposition is most often constructed as one severalconventional theme-types, including sentence, period, hybrid, or even small ternary or small

binary. To fulfill its primary tonal function, the main theme must reside primarily in the home

key. Most main themes end with a PAC, rarely an IAC. If the main theme ends with a PAC, aclosing section made up of codettas may be appended. Main themes ending with a HC may be

followed by a post-cadential SOD. A main theme ending with a PAC may also be immediately

followed by a second main theme to create a main-theme group. It is important to note that both

themes in the group end with a PAC in the home key.

TRANSITION: Most often, the transition destabilizes the home key through the process of

modulation, so that the home key is given up and replaced by the subordinate key. But thetransition need not modulate: if the main theme has tonic as its harmonic goal (by closing with

an authentic cadence), the transition may undermine this tonal stability by leading to the home-

key dominant, a decidedly weaker goal. These two procedures characterize the main categoriesof transition, termed modulating and nonmodulating.

Most transitions open in one of four ways:

1. With new material supported by the home-key tonic: commonly used after the main

theme has closed with a PAC.2. With the opening material of the main theme: typically employed when the main theme

ends with a HC.

3. With a false closing sections made up of codettas to the main theme4. With a sudden shift to a nontonic region of the home key.

The first two procedures account for the majority of transitions; the third and fourth proceduresare less common.

The close of the transition is often marked by a liquidation of melodic-motivic material, areduction in texture, and sometimes (but not always) a break in rhythmic activity to set off the

entrance of the subordinate theme. The final harmony is a dominant—of either the subordinate



Krumbholz, MUSC242 (Caplin, Sonata Form Notes), p. 2

key or the home key. Most often this dominant arises in a half-cadential progression, and the

appearance of that harmony creates a genuine HC. The final dominant of the transition is usuallygiven temporal emphasis in order to arouse the listener’s expectation for a tonic resolution.

SUBORDINATE THEME: Unlike a main theme, which may close with any one of the three standard

cadence types [PAC, IAC, HC], a subordinate theme ends with a PAC in the subordinate key.Exceptions to this principle are rare. The subordinate key is often articulated by two or more

themes forming a subordinate-theme group. Each theme of the group ends with a PAC. Thefinal cadence of the subordinate theme (a group of themes) is almost always followed by a

closing section consisting of codettas. The closing section itself may then lead into a

retransition, which modulates back to the home key, usually for a return of the main theme.

At times, the boundary between the transition and the subordinate theme becomes blurred when

the dominant from the end of the transition is held over to provide harmonic support for a SOD

at the beginning of the subordinate theme proper. In most cases when a subordinate themebegins with a SOD, a marked change of melodic-motivic material helps indicate where the

transition ends and the subordinate theme ends.

Almost all subordinate themes reside in the major mode; even in minor-mode movements, the

subordinate theme lies in the relative major. Nonetheless, a change from major to minor is

frequently encountered with a subordinate theme (or theme group). Except at the final cadenceof the theme (or theme group), a modal shift [mixture] can take place anywhere in a subordinate

theme. A modal shift is particularly dramatic when it occurs at the beginning of the subordinate

theme. A shift to minor mode in the subordinate theme brings into play tonal regions, such as

ßIII, ßVI, ßVII, and ßII, that would otherwise be considered remote in a strictly major-modecontext.

CLOSING SECTION: a closing section usually contains several different codettas. Typically, thefirst codetta is repeated and then followed by a second codetta, which may or may not be

repeated; a third codetta may then also appear. In such cases, the subsequent codetta is usually

shorter than the previous one. The melodic content of most closing sections contrasts markedlywith the cadential ideas closing the theme. The material usually consists of conventionalized

scalar or arpeggiated patterns. On occasion however, the codettas can establish more significant

motivic references, especially when ideas from the main theme return to round out the wholeexposition.

1. Expositional retransition: the final codetta of the closing section is sometimes followed

by a retransition, a passage that functions to modulate back to the home key and to lead

smoothly to a repeat of the exposition.2. False closing section: the PACs of any of the prior themes may be followed by material

with prominent characteristics of a coda (i.e., tonic pedal, prolongation of tonic note in

the soprano, generally recessive dynamic). The subsequent development of this material,however, is revealed retrospectively to function as the beginning of a new subordinate

theme. In such situations, we can say that the new theme begins with a false closing

section.




DEVELOPMENT:

The motivic-material of a development normally derives from that of the exposition. Unlike theexposition, the specific tonal organization of a development cannot be predicted in advance.

Nonetheless, certain tonal regions regularly appear, depending on the modality of the home key.

In major-mode movement, the development usually explores the submediant, mediant, or

supertonic. In minor-mode movements, the subdominant or dominant often is used. Note thatall of these are minor-mode regions of the home key. This emphasis on minor modality in the

development contrasts with the exposition, which resides predominantly in the major mode, evenin cases in which the home key is minor. Erwin Ratz asserts that many developments exhibit

what he calls ‘core’ technique, a rather large section of the development that provides a model

that is repeated sequentially one or more times, then fragmented, which then finally leads to aHC or dominant arrival of either the home key or a development key, after which a SOD

typically occurs. The ‘pre-core’ is the opening section of the development that precedes the

‘core.’

PRE-CORE: the pre-core typically begins with the tonic of the subordinate key (or region). This

tonic then supports a new initiating function of some kind. The pre-core section is generallymore relaxed yet also somewhat hesitant and anticipatory. The dynamic level tends to be softand the rhythmic activity is frequently discontinuous (or at least less active than the core section

that follows it). If the core often bursts out with Sturm und Drang (“storm and stress”), the pre-

core can be likened to the calm before the storm.

CORE: The core of the development typically projects an emotional quality of instability; rest-

lessness, and dramatic conflict. The dynamic level is usually forte, and the general character is

often one of Sturm und Drang. The core normally brings a marked increase in the rhythmicactivity projected by con conventionalized accompanimental patterns. Polyphonic devices—

imitation, canon, fugal entries—can contribute further to the complexity of the musical texture.

In short, the core is that part of the development in which the traditional sense of a “working out”of the material is most prominently expressed.

RETRANSITION: Although most developments express a general retransition function, in that theyall eventually return from a subordinate or development key to the home key, only some

developments include a specific passage whose primary function is retransitional. Most

typically, a retransition is a complete phrase, or even a full theme-like unit, that follows the

cadential articulation of a development key. At times, the retransition may consist of the home-key dominant exclusively, but only when that harmony directly follows the dominant of the

preceding development key.

RECAPITULATION:

MAIN THEME: In many recapitulations, the main theme is organized just as it was in the

exposition, although ornamental changes may be included. Frequently, however, the main themeundergoes some of the following structural changes because of its new formal function in the

recapitulation.

1. Deletion of thematic restatements: Since the main theme’s melodic-motivic material is bynow quite familiar to the listener, a restatement of ideas is often eliminated in the

recapitulation, especially if those ideas were prominently exploited in the development.




2. Additional model-sequence technique: the composer may throw new light on some old

ideas (especially those not treated in the development) by means of a newly composedpassage using model-sequence technique.

3. Emphasis on “flat” tonal regions: the harmonic plan of the main theme is sometimes

altered in a way that emphasizes the “flat” side of the tonal spectrum—regions that

introduce chromatically lowered scale degrees, such as the subdominant, ßIII, ßVI, and theNeapolitan (ßII).

4. Deletion of the home-key cadence: since there is ample opportunity to confirm the homekey later in the recapitulation (in the subordinate theme), a cadence to end the main

theme is dispensable. Main theme ‘closing’ material may also be omitted.

TRANSITION: in the exposition, the transition functions to destabilize the home key in order to

establish a contrasting subordinate key. In the recapitulation, the transition continues to fulfill

this role, but the home key is destabilized for a completely different reason—to permit thesubordinate theme to sound fresh when transposed into the home key and to prevent the

recapitulation from becoming tonally monotonous. In addition, certain other alterations, similar

to those discussed with the main theme, are regularly encountered:1. Deletions and compressions: the transition in the recapitulation often deletes or

compresses a substantial portion of the material used in the exposition. The deleted

passages are usually taken from the beginning of the transition, where they generally

serve to prolong home-key tonic.2. Additional model-sequence technique: passages that do not correspond directly to the

exposition. These passages usually extend an existing continuation. Indeed, motives not

prominently featured in the development section are frequently given special treatment.3. Emphasis on “flat” regions: since both the main and subordinate themes of the

recapitulation generally stress diatonic harmonies of the home key, the transition offers

the best opportunity for composers to create a significant harmonic-tonal contrast in the

recapitulation.

SUBORDINATE THEME (GROUP):

As a general rule, the subordinate theme (or theme group) returns as it had originally appeared inthe exposition, except for being tonally adjusted into the home key.

1. Standard additions and deletions: like the main theme and transition, the subordinate

theme in the recapitulation may delete material that is stated more than once in theexposition. But it is also typical for the cadential area of the subordinate theme to

undergo greater expansion than it received in the exposition.

2. Major alterations: occasionally the composer alters the thematic structure in moresubstantial ways. Sometimes the changes are made for expressive and dramatic goals

unique to the individual work. But some compositional situations arising in theexposition regularly lead to major alterations in the recapitulation.i. “Monothematic”exposition: the composer normally alters substantially the

second statement of the main theme or deletes it altogether.

ii. Two-part subordinate theme: to avoid over emphasizing the dominant of the

home key (first as a HC to introduce the ST and then as a second HC tointroduce the second part of the ST) either the first part of the subordinate




theme is deleted, or portions of it are assimilated into the preceding transition.

The second part of the ST follows as the actual theme in the recap.iii. Modulating subordinate theme: in some cases the ST theme can still give the

impression of modulating by beginning in some other tonal region (of the

home key) and eventually returning to emphasize the tonic region. In other

cases, the theme begins directly on the home-key tonic and so loses some of itsmodulatory character.

iv. Closing section, “Retransition”: the closing section of the ST usuallyreappears in the recapitulation. If the recapitulation is followed by a coda, the

final codettas or the closing section are sometimes altered or eliminated. In the

absence of a genuine coda, the closing section may be extended in order toimpart a more decisive sense of conclusion to the movement as a whole. If the

exposition closes with a retransition leading back to the home key, the

recapitulation may very well bring a similar passage, this time leading to the

subdominant region for the beginning of the coda. Since this materialmodulates to another region, it functions more as “transition” rather than a

retransition.

CODABy the end of the recapitulation, the fundamental melodic, harmonic, and tonal processes of a

movement have generally achieved closure. Indeed, many movements literally finish at thispoint. Because a movement’s structural close is fulfilled by the recapitulation, the primary

function of a coda is to express the temporal quality of “after-the-end.” A coda is thus

analogous to a closing section—made up of codettas—that follows a PAC ending a theme.

The coda gives the composer an opportunity to impart a circular design to the overall form by

recalling main-theme ideas; to restore expositional material deleted from the recapitulation; to

recapitulate ideas from the development section; to shape a concluding dynamic curve thatdiffers from (or surpasses) that of the recapitulation; and to realize the implications generated by

various compositional processes that have been left unrealized in earlier sections.

However, composers also avoid introducing new material that calls for further development and

initiating new processes that cannot be completed. The coda rarely initiates any changes of

tonality that might undermine its primary expression of after-the-end. Instead, the coda tends to

remain in the home key, although various tonal regions may be briefly explored. Indeed,prominent tonicizations and sequential progressions frequently occur early in a coda to provide

harmonic contrast between the end of the recapitulation and the end of the coda, both of which

emphasize the home-key tonic.

caplin sonata notes

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