Sonata

A sonata (Italian sonata, Suonata; suonare from Italian, Latin sonare " sound ") is a mostly multi-movement instrumental piece for a solo or very small chamber music ensemble. Depending on the occupation, a distinction is made between solo sonatas for a single instrument (eg piano or a melody instrument), duo sonatas (usually a melody instrument plus piano), and trio sonatas. Formally similar works for larger instrumental ensembles are Quintets not designated as sonatas, quartets, etc. but as. Sonatas for Orchestra hot symphonies.

History

Sonata ( " Kling piece" ) is in the beginnings of independent instrumental music in the late 16th century, a general term for instrumental pieces with no particular formal scheme as opposed to the Cantata ( "Sing piece "). It is first of Giovanni Croce ( 1580) and Andrea Gabrieli, whose several " Sonate a 5 istromenti " are ( 1586) lost, used. From his nephew Giovanni Gabrieli some sonatas are obtained (1597 and 1615). These sonatas are the oldest pieces for several instruments (violins, violas, tines and trombones ); their focus is on the development of harmonic richness, this influenced at Giovanni Gabrieli and his composers often in the interaction of several choirs, which is called after the effect site of most significant composers of this style as Venetian polychorality. Your practical determination is often to be preceded by a church vocal music as an introduction. The Sonata comes in the sequence ( completely synonymous with the Sinfonia ) than launching a cantata.

Towards the end of the 17th century, one begins to distinguish two types of the sonata. All are based on the line-up with two upper voices and basso voice.

Sébastien de Brossard (1655-1730) defined in his Dictionnaire de musique music lexicon following classification for the first time in writing:

This scheme is not applied in a rigid manner and established only in the works of Handel and Bach sonata form as such. In the Italian violin music, she finds herself up into the 19th century in the music of Boccherini.

The Sonata da camera ( chamber sonata ), however, consisted largely of stylized dance movements. At the time of Bach and Handel to their development of the church sonata had completely decoupled and Suite, Partita, Ordre or referred to ( preceded by a prelude in the French style ) as an overture, see Suite.

Bach used these names for the Sonata types do not, but they can be clearly distinguished from him in style and shape. In his six sonatas for solo violin are the numbers 1, 3 and 5 church sonatas. The numbers 2, 4, 6 are called " Partita ", but they can be viewed as a chamber sonatas.

The transfer of the name Sonata on piano works similar design shall first be done by the composer Gian Pietro del Buono with his 1645 published sonatas. Better known are the so-called " biblical history " Johann Kuhnau (Leipzig 1700). In the classical sonata, the changes in style and form, and especially the polyphony will be replaced. Prepared by Domenico Scarlatti develop especially Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Joseph Haydn sonata form in the first sentence or the first movement is written as sonata form.

The new form of the sonata is transmitted by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven on the composition of different ensembles (violin and piano, piano, violin and cello, string trio, string quartet, etc.) and for orchestra ( Symphony), where the term sonata despite the same form but the chamber music remains reserved.

Structure of the classical sonata

The following sequence of sets corresponds to the most frequently realized model. Since Beethoven, however, the order of the second and third set was occasionally reversed, so that the slow movement was placed second minuet or scherzo and in third place.

First Set

The first movement is the characteristic set for the sonata ( as this is thus different from Suite, Serenade, etc. ); its form is the so-called sonata form with their moldings exposition, development, recapitulation and coda. Since this term is a creation of form in the 19th century, its use for compositions of time left before 1800 rightly controversial. It is widely common to describe forms of sentence after him; he divided sentences but rather by key areas than after the sequence of independent musical thoughts. This corresponds to certainly not always the structural intent of the composer. The contemporary formal concepts can be found in numerous music-theoretical works, eg Johann Gottfried Krause, Bernard Germain Lacepede and others. Formations as the first sentences of the so -called Moonlight Sonata ( Op. 27, C-sharp minor ), or A-flat major Sonata ( Op. 26) Beethoven have nothing to do with this scheme. Both sonatas missing the actual first sentence; they start with the slow movement - which is the second in the rule. In the Moonlight Sonata first followed by the third sentence of the sonata scheme. Even Mozart had in his Piano Sonata in A major ( K. 331 ) dispenses with the header record.

Second sentence

Characteristic of the second set is the slow movement ( only in exceptional cases, the slow movement and the equal interchange to be discussed Scherzo their place ). Its shape can be a very different. Is he like the first equipped with two contrasting themes, as is the more animated the second; the recapitulation and implementation fall away, on the other hand like the main theme appears three times, usually with ever increased figuration. Often, the composer is content with the three-part song form, ie the order ABA. Very popular is the variation form for the second set. The key of the second set is usually that of the subdominant, or relative minor.

Third set

The third movement minuet or scherzo, again usually in the major or a closely related key. In early sonatas minuet or scherzo is completely missing, so that one right from the second to the last sentence, the final passes.

Fourth proposition

The fourth movement, the finale, is on average faster movement always in the home key, but it turns out often minor in the major. Its shape is either the sonata form, sometimes without the reprise, but with implementation, or a widely elaborated rondo form with more than two mostly short subjects. In rare cases, it ends in a joint.

The sonata in the Romantic

In Romanticism, there was one hand the flow (about Schumann and Brahms ) in maintaining the classical sonata form and was filled with new content. Frédéric Chopin had already puts the sonata form by the first issue no longer appears in the recapitulation with him. On the other hand, Franz Liszt was the first composer who has broken new ground in its one-movement Piano Sonata in B Minor ( 1854) and at the same time founded the New German School. The sonata form is no longer important. The basic musical material consists of four leitmotifs from which the whole musical development is derived. Thus the term ' sonata ' returned to its original meaning ' Kling piece ' back. In the late Romantic period and the transition to non - tonal music, the piano sonatas of Scriabin Alexander are mentioned. Especially the later sonatas have intensive design process, combined with the move away from tonality, in favor of a harmonic system that is based on fourths ( from the 6th ).