CONSIDERACIONES JURÍDICAS

You learned the rudiments of sonata form in Chapter 2. If you don’t remember its elements, consult the computer tutorial or go back and review pp. 55–57. Listen, now, to a central example of the Classical sonata, one you should have heard before: the first movement of Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik. Consult the musical score (Anthology, pp. 378–82) as we dissect its vital parts. Remember to hum the musical examples to yourself, not skip over them. Take some time to do this right; it will make a big difference in the way you hear music in the very near future.

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An excellent example of basic sonata form at work is Mozart’s string serenade Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525, finished in Vienna in 1787.

The title, “A Little Night Music,” identifies it as a smallish, pleasant work and a nocturne (or nottumo, for evening performance) from the serenade family. Serenades, although by no means trivial, were a rather less elevated genre than the more rigorous and demanding symphony and concerto. They were for what might be considered easy listening rather than intense scrutiny. One would have heard them played from musicians’ lofts at social gatherings or out of doors in a garden. Mozart wrote dozens, for all sorts of performing forces. There is much gorgeous Mozart to be found in the serenades and related

genres (divertimento, cassation), notably in the long works for wind ensemble. Eine kleine Nachtmusik is scored for strings alone, in four parts: violins I and II, violas, and cellos, doubled-as happens with most Classical bass lines- by contrabass viols (double basses). The clarity of the scoring contributes markedly to the character of the work. At the same time, the all-string orchestra has a very homogenous tone quality, such that the composer must seek the contrast in other parameters than the orchestration.

I. ALLEGRO

The first “theme” consists of three more or less independent elements: an opening gesture that sounds very like a fanfare, a rather more theme-like continuation, and a winsome closing gesture- a cadential figure.

The sf bursts (subitoJorte, “suddenly loud”) and soft responses indicate the dawn of something new (00:30). During the crescendo (the first notated crescendo you have encountered in our chronological treatment) C#s begin to be introduced (00:37). By now you should be able to sense the tonal shift happening: The C♯s are what bring the tonality out of G major (the tonic) and toward D major (the dominant).

This, then, is the transition, or bn’dge, during which the process of modulation takes place. The rest at the end (00:46) represents a collective taking of breath before the second theme.

The second theme is gracious and courtly, contrasting pointedly with the swashbuckling assurance of the first. Thus it stands in relief or opposition to what has come before, reflecting a central feature of the sonata style. The restatement of this idea is in violins II, with a new figure in the firsts, the repeated high As.

Like the group in tonic, this second group in dominant has three elements: the main idea, its extension, and a cadential figure. The cadential figure is repeated, rearticulating and confirming what it has had to say.

Now the exposition builds in range and volume to a climax, followed by a quiet, elegant fade. Mozart’s closing material is always delightful.

The exposition repeats, doubling your opportunity to register these things.

The sonata is, in the Classical period at least, a two-section movement. In the second section the music will be developed and recapitulated, and here (as with many works of the period) the composer calls for a repeat of the whole second half. The development begins with the fanfares again (although on D instead of G), and for a moment you may be uncertain about the direction things are taking.

You prick your ears and listen attentively, convinced fairly quickly that you’re in the development because of the way the bridge theme begins to be shifted around among the voices. Mozart then treats material from phrase 2 of the second theme. With the powerful m in the bass (03:35) comes a signal that maximum tension has been reached, emphasized by the strong play of motives and fragments; the unison string chromaticisms lead to the dominant D in the first violins and in the basses. You just can’t miss that the recapitulation is at hand.

Indeed, if you’re listening intently, the inevitability of all this should be apparent to you. The instability of the development gives way to the solidarity of the recapitulation. You the listener respond with a sense of satisfaction that this most significant element of the sonata construction has been achieved. Remember that in recapitulation, for the second group to stay in the tonic key, there have to be alterations

to the bridge. Its original purpose was to go somewhere; this time it must not go anywhere. Mozart marks time for a moment with a clever sleight of hand, then presents the second theme beginning on D, so it comes out in G, the proper tonic.

Here, a special moment: The little concluding sigh (05:20) is stretched almost romantically with chromatics down and scales up, then there’s a bold confirming tutti-a codaof six bars, reminding you a little of the opening fanfares.