Exposition (music)

With exposure (Latin Exponere highlight ) the part of a composition is known in the music, in which the subjects are first presented.

In the fugue, the term stands for the fact that the topic is presented and performed by all voices.

The exposure of the classical sonata form usually consists of the " main clause " ( with the first theme ), the page set ( the second theme) and the final group ( thematically structured passage work ). According to the rules of the Viennese Classic the first topic is always a dynamic that is presented in the key of the tonic, the second, lyrical theme is contrasted with ( at the major keys in the dominant key in the minor keys in the relative minor ).

In the 19th century the sonata developed further, which allowed a departure from the strict form of the composition. Thus, both the rule of the construction of the sonata as well as the compelling juxtaposition of a dynamic and a lyrical theme were increasingly broken. Example of this are:

• ( The Unfinished ) by Franz Schubert, the eighth Symphony in B minor: Here in the exposure of the two topics are both presented against the tradition in the piano and they are very similar in character also
• The Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Considerable space at the beginning of the work occupies not about the first topic, but an introductory theme in D flat major
• The Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor by Frédéric Chopin in which the first sentence three topics ( Introduction and first theme in E minor, second theme in G major ) are presented and discussed only the introductory theme in the implementation is

The structure of an exposure in the sonata form

After the first issue has been presented, a modulation takes place, that is a key change. This key is used to transition subsequently appearing in a contrasting key of the second theme. This often is followed by a final group with which ends the exposure. Sometimes the exposure repeated. Before you can be a (slower ) Introduction stand. It is followed by development, recapitulation, and sometimes a coda.

For the harmonic relationships of keys see also: harmony, circle of fifths.

• Part of a musical form