Sonata cycle
Encyclopedia
Sonata cycle has two uses in western classical music.
- In reference to performance or recording, it almost always means the complete traversal of a set of works by a single composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. For example a "Beethoven sonata cycle" would refer to a performer playing all of Beethoven'sLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
piano sonataPiano sonataA piano sonata is a sonata written for a solo piano. Piano sonatas are usually written in three or four movements, although some piano sonatas have been written with a single movement , two movements , five or even more movements...
s.
- In music theoryMusic theoryMusic theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
it can refer to the layout of a multi-movementMovement (music)A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
work where the movements are recognizably in the forms of the tradition of classical musicClassical musicClassical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
. The standard sonata cycle has a first movement in sonata formSonata formSonata form is a large-scale musical structure used widely since the middle of the 18th century . While it is typically used in the first movement of multi-movement pieces, it is sometimes used in subsequent movements as well—particularly the final movement...
, also called sonata-allegro movement; a second movement which is usually in a slow tempo and in another key, and in one of a variety of formsMusical formThe term musical form refers to the overall structure or plan of a piece of music, and it describes the layout of a composition as divided into sections...
such as theme and variationsVariation (music)In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve harmony, melody, counterpoint, rhythm, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these.-Variation form:...
, compound ternary formTernary formTernary form, sometimes called song form, is a three-part musical form, usually schematicized as A-B-A. The first and third parts are musically identical, or very nearly so, while the second part in some way provides a contrast with them...
, rondoRondoRondo, and its French equivalent rondeau, is a word that has been used in music in a number of ways, most often in reference to a musical form, but also to a character-type that is distinct from the form...
, or sonata; a third movement in the home key, usually in Minuet [or Scherzo] and Trio form; and a fourth movement in the home key and in rondo, sonata, or theme and variations form. For more detail see SonataSonataSonata , in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata , a piece sung. The term, being vague, naturally evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms prior to the Classical era...
. It differs from the term cyclic formCyclic formCyclic form is a technique of musical construction, involving multiple sections or movements, in which a theme, melody, or thematic material occurs in more than one movement as a unifying device. Sometimes a theme may occur at the beginning and end Cyclic form is a technique of musical...
in that there is no unifying motiveMotif (music)In music, a motif or motive is a short musical idea, a salient recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of a composition....
or themeTheme (music)In music, a theme is the material, usually a recognizable melody, upon which part or all of a composition is based.-Characteristics:A theme may be perceivable as a complete musical expression in itself, separate from the work in which it is found . In contrast to an idea or motif, a theme is...
used in all the movements.