TABLE OF CONTENTS

Prelude & Fugue in A major, XIX from WTC II

Johann Sebastian Bach ................................ ................2

1 Biography..............................................................2

1.1 Early years (1685-1702) ................................2

1.2 Arnstadt to Weimar (1703–1717) ..................2

1.3 Cöthen (1717–1723)......................................2

1.4 Leipzig (1723–50).........................................2

1.5 Rediscovery ..................................................3

2 Compositions ........................................................3

2.1 Organ works..................................................3

2.2 Other keyboard works ...................................3

2.3 Orchestral and chamber music.......................3

2.4 Vocal and choral works .................................4

3 Analysis of Piece ...................................................4

3.1 Prelude in A major, No.19 from WTC II .......4

3.1.1 Overall design of prelude ......................4

3.1.2 Practical performance considerations ....5

3.2 Fugue in A major, No.19 from WTC II..........5

3.2.1 Subject..................................................5

3.2.2 Statements of the subject.......................6

3.2.3 Countersubjects ....................................6

3.2.4 Episodes ...............................................6

3.2.5 Design ..................................................7

3.2.6 Overall dynamic outline ........................8

Sonata in F minor, Op. 2 No. 1

Ludwig van Beethoven................................ .................9

4 Biography ..............................................................9

5 Musical style ..........................................................9

5.1 Vienna period (1792-1802)............................9

5.2 Heroic period (1803-1816) ............................9

5.3 Isolated/creative period (1817-1827) ...........10

6 Compositional Overview......................................10

7 Analysis of Piece..................................................10

7.1 First movement - Sonata form, F minor,

Allegro 10

7.2 Second movement - Ternary form, F major,

Adagio 11

7.3 Third movement - Minuet & Trio form, F

minor, Allegretto ......................................................11

7.4 Fourth movement - Sonata form, F minor,

Prestissimo ..............................................................12

D’ombre et de Silence, Prelude No. 1

Henri Dutilleux ................................ ..........................13

8 Biography ............................................................13

9 Musical style ........................................................13

10 Major works ....................................................14

10.1 Orchestral ...................................................14

• Danse Fantastique for orchestra (1942) (*)......14

10.2 Concerti ......................................................14

10.3 Chamber/Instrumental .................................14

10.4 Choral ........................................................ 14

10.5 Vocal ......................................................... 14

10.6 Ballet ......................................................... 14

11 Analysis of Piece ............................................ 14

11.1 Elements of style found in piece ................. 14

11.2 Structural analysis ...................................... 14

11.3 Performance Notes ..................................... 15

Petrarch Sonnet 104 from Years of Pilgrimage, Book

II Franz Liszt ................................ ............................ 16

12 Biography....................................................... 16

13 Musical Style and Influences .......................... 17

14 Major works ................................................... 17

15 Analysis of Piece ............................................ 18

15.1 Annees de pelerinage.................................. 18

15.2 Sonnetto 104 del Petrarca ........................... 18

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Prelude & Fugue in A major, XIX from

WTC II

Johann Sebastian Bach

1 Biography

Johann Sebastian Bach (March 25, 1685-July 28, 1750)

was a German Baroque composer. He was one of the

greatest composers of all time, but during his lifetime, he

was little-known and was mostly recognized for

performing on the organ. Bach composed in many

established musical forms, including, for example, the

cantata and fugue, and developed them into complex and

sublime pieces. He composed over 1,100 works in almost

every musical genre (except opera).

Bach was born and died in Germany, and spent his entire

life there, working as an organist, teacher, and composer.

He had over 20 children, including four who became

famous musicians in their own right, including Carl

Philipp Emanuel, Wilhelm Friedemann, Johann

Christoph Friedrich, and Johann Christian.

1.1 Early years (1685-1702)

Bach was the youngest of eight children. His father,

Johann Ambrosius Bach, had been a town musician, and

probably gave Bach his early music lessons. His mother,

Maria Elisabetha, and his father died within a year of

each other (in 1694 and 1695, respectively). Orphaned at

age 10, Bach moved in with his an older brother, Johann

Christoph, who was the organist at St. Michael's Church,

Ohrdruf. This brother probably taught Bach much about

the organ.

1.2 Arnstadt to Weimar (1703–1717)

Bach's early career involved playing the violin and organ

at a low-level position in the ruling court in Weimar and

in Neukirche, Arnstadt, beginning in 1703. In October

1707, Bach married his cousin Maria Barbara Bach;

together they would eventually have seven children

(including Wilhelm Friedemann Bach and Carl Philipp

Emanuel Bach). In 1708, Bach was appointed organist

and chamber musician to the Duke of Saxe-Weimar.

During the next nine years Bach composed many of his

finest organ compositions, and became known as a fine

organist.

During this period, Bach's major works included Toccata

and Fugue in D Minor (1705), Cantata No. 208 (1713),

and The Little Organ Book (1714).

1.3 Cöthen (1717–1723)

In 1717, Bach became Kapellmeister (the chapel master,

who directed and/or composed music for a church or

chapel) in the court of the music-lover Prince Leopold of

Anhalt-Cothen. During this period, Bach's major

works included the Brandenburg Concertos (1721),

The Well-Tempered Clavier (first book, 1722). In

1721, the Prince married a woman who did not share

the Prince's interest in music, and the Prince's

support of Bach lessened. Bach would soon leave.

1.4 Leipzig (1723–50)

Bach left Anhalt-Cothen in 1723 for Leipzig. He became

Kantor (teacher and director of music) of St. Thomas's in

Leipzig. Bach remained in Leipzig for the rest of his life.

During this period, Bach's major works included St.

John Passion (1723), St. Matthew Passion (1727), Suite

No. 3 in D (1729), Magnificat in D Major (1731),

Christmas Oratorio (1734), Italian Concerto (1735),

Goldberg Variations (1741-1742, originally called "Aria

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With Diverse Variations," but later nicknamed after

Bach's student Johann Gottlieb Goldberg), The Well-

Tempered Clavier (second book, 1742), the Musical

Offering (1747), and The Art of the Fugue (unfinished,

1749).

1.5 Rediscovery

Many of Bach's works were not published until a century

after his death, and he was soon forgotten. In March

1829, almost 100 years after Bach's death, Felix

Mendelssohn performed Bach's St. Matthew Passion,

spurring world-wide interest in Bach. Soon, Bach's works

were appreciated by the world - essentially for the first

time.

2 Compositions

J.S. Bach’s works are indexed using BWV numbers,

which stand for Bach Werke Verzeichnis (Bach Works

Catalogue). Originally published in 1950, the catalogue

was compiled by Wolfgang Schmieder. It is organised

thematically, rather than chronologically. In compiling

the catalogue, Schmieder largely followed the Bach

Gesellschaft Ausgabe, a comprehensive edition of the

composer's works that was produced between 1850 and

1905.

2.1 Organ works

Bach was best known during his lifetime as an organist,

organ consultant, and composer of organ works both in

the traditional German free genres such as preludes,

fantasias, and toccatas, and stricter forms such as chorale

preludes and fugues. He established a reputation at a

young age for his great creativity and ability to integrate

aspects of several different national styles into his organ

works.

2.2 Other keyboard works

Bach wrote many works for the harpsichord, some of

which may also have been played on the clavichord.

Many of his keyboard works are anthologies that show an

eagerness to encompass whole theoretical systems in an

encyclopaedic fashion, as it were. The principal keyboard

works follow:

• The Well-Tempered Clavier, Books 1 and 2

(BWV 846–893). Each book comprises a prelude

and fugue in each of the 24 major and minor keys

(thus, the whole collection is often referred to as

‘the 48’). “Well-tempered” in the title refers to

the temperament (system of tuning); many

temperaments before Bach’s time were not

flexible enough to allow compositions to move

through more than just a few keys.

• The 15 Inventions and 15 Sinfonias (BWV 772–

801). These are short two- and three-part

contrapuntal works arranged in order of key

signatures of increasing sharps and flats, omitting

some of the less used ones. The pieces were

intended by Bach for instructional purposes.

• Three collections of dance suites: the English

Suites (BWV 806–811), the French Suites (BWV

812–817) and the Partitas for keyboard (BWV

825–830). Each collection contains six suites

built on the standard model (Allemande –

Courante – Sarabande – (optional movement) –

Gigue). The English Suites closely follow the

traditional model, adding a prelude before the

allemande and including a single movement

between the sarabande and the gigue. The French

Suites omit preludes, but have multiple

movements between the sarabande and the gigue.

The partitas expand the model further with

elaborate introductory movements and

miscellaneous movements between the basic

elements of the model.

• The Goldberg Variations (BWV 988), an aria

with thirty variations. The collection has a

complex and unconventional structure: the

variations build on the bass line of the aria, rather

than its melody, and musical canons are

interpolated according to a grand plan. There are

nine canons within the 30 variations, one placed

every three variations between variations 3 and

27. These variations move in order from canon at

the unison to canon at the ninth. The first eight

are in pairs (unison and octave, second and

seventh, third and sixth, fourth and fifth). The

ninth canon stands on its own due to

compositional dissimilarities.

• Miscellaneous pieces such as the Overture in the

French Style (French Overture, BWV 831)

Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue (BWV 903), and

the Italian Concerto (BWV 971).

2.3 Orchestral and chamber music

Bach wrote music for single instruments, duets and small

ensembles. Bach's works for solo instruments – the six

sonatas and partitas for violin (BWV1001–1006), the six

cello suites (BWV 1007–1012) and the Partita for solo

flute (BWV1013) – may be listed among the most

profound works in the repertoire. Bach has also

composed a suite and several other works for solo lute.

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He wrote trio sonatas; solo sonatas (accompanied by

continuo) for the flute and for the viola da gamba; and a

large number of canons and ricercare, mostly for

unspecified instrumentation. The most significant

examples of the latter are contained in The Art of Fugue

and The Musical Offering.

Bach's best-known orchestral works are the Brandenburg

concertos, so named because he submitted them in the

hope of gaining employment from the Margrave of

Brandenburg in 1721. (His application was unsuccessful.)

These works are examples of the concerto grosso genre.

Other surviving works in the concerto form include two

violin concertos; a concerto for two violins, often referred

to as Bach’s "double" concerto; and concertos for one,

two, three and even four harpsichords. It is widely

accepted that many of the harpsichord concertos were not

original works, but arrangements of his concertos for

other instruments now lost. A number of violin, oboe and

flute concertos have been reconstructed from these. In

addition to concertos, Bach also wrote four orchestral

suites, a series of stylised dances for orchestra. The work

now known as the Air on the G string, for instance, is an

arrangement for the violin made in the nineteenth century

from the second movement of the Orchestral Suite No. 3.

2.4 Vocal and choral works

Bach wrote more than 300 sacred cantatas, of which only

about 195 survive. His cantatas vary greatly in form and

instrumentation. Some of them are only for a solo singer;

some are single choruses; some are for grand orchestras,

some only a few instruments. A very common format,

however, includes a large opening chorus followed by

one or more recitative-aria pairs for soloists (or duets),

and a concluding chorale. The recitative is part of the

corresponding Bible reading for the week and the aria is a

contemporary reflection on it. The concluding chorale

often also appears as a chorale prelude in a central

movement, and occasionally as a cantus firmus in the

opening chorus as well. The best known of these cantatas

are Cantata No. 4 ("Christ lag in Todesbanden"), Cantata

No. 80 ("Ein' feste Burg"), Cantata No. 140 ("Wachet

auf") and Cantata No. 147 ("Herz und Mund und Tat und

Leben").

In addition, Bach wrote a number of secular cantatas,

usually for civic events such as weddings. The two

Wedding Cantatas and the Coffee Cantata, which

concerns a girl whose father will not let her marry until

she gives up her coffee addiction, are among the best

known of these.

Bach’s large choral-orchestral works include the famous

St Matthew Passion and St John Passion, both written for

Holy Week services at the St Thomas’s Church, the

Christmas Oratorio (a set of six cantatas for use in the

Liturgical season of Christmas). The Magnificat in two

versions (one in E-flat major, with extra movements

interpolated among the movements of the Magnificat

text, and the later and better-known version in D major)

and the Easter Oratorio compare to large, elaborated

cantatas, of a lesser extent than the Passions and the

Christmas Oratorio.

Bach's other large work, the Mass in B minor, was

assembled by Bach near the end of his life, mostly from

pieces composed earlier (such as Cantata 191 and Cantata

12). It was never performed in Bach’s lifetime, or even

after his death until the 19th century.

All of these works, unlike the motets, have substantial

solo parts as well as choruses.

3 Analysis of Piece

3.1 Prelude in A major, No.19 from WTC II

Unlike the headings fugue or invention, the word prelude

reveals nothing of the structure, texture, or organization

of the music. All that can be discerned is that it is an

introduction to a subsequent piece. Historically, the

expected purpose or a prelude was to allow a performer

to prepare himself and his audience for the expected main

composition, and as thus was given little weight.

However, this attitude has gradually changed and there

can be no doubt that the preludes in the Well-Tempered

Clavier are an integral part of each entity.

3.1.1 Overall design of prelude

In a prelude which unfolds so smoothly, very obvious

cadential closes might constitute undesirable interruption

of the mood. This prelude consequently presents itself

with very few harmonic closes. These, and the additional

imperfect cadences, appear almost perfectly integrated

into the flow of the piece.

The home key of A major is first confirmed in bar 3.

Both the suspension in the upper voice and the fact that

no subdominant has yet appeared make this cadence not

eligible as a structural caesura. Bar 6 reaches E major

which, however, appears here in an imperfect cadence,

still referring to A major. The secondary key is not truly

established until the middle beat of bar 9 - yet even here,

the simultaneous beginning of a new line in a higher

register does not allow any feeling of melodic closure to

arise.

There is one significant structural analogy in this prelude:

bars 1-9 recur in bars 22-30 (transposed and

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varied)

The prelude contains five sections, three of them with

sub-divisions:

I bars 1-9 modulation to the dominant (E major)

(bar 6: imperfect cadence in A major)

II bars 9-16

modulation to the relative minor key (F#

minor)

III

bars 16-

22

modulation to the subdominant (D

major)

(bar 19: imperfect cadence in A major)

IV

bars 22-

31

Return to the home key (A major)

(bar 27: imperfect cadence in D major)

V

bars 31-

33

tonic confirmed (A major)

3.1.2 Practical performance considerations

This is a metrically determined prelude in rather calm

basic character. The effect of tranquility is enhanced by a

detail in the pitch pattern which is extremely important

for an adequate understanding: almost all flowing eighth-

note lines consist of a succession of written-out inverted

mordents (or, later, mordents). The A-G#

-A and C#

-B-C#

in the upper voice of bar 1 are pre-beat ornaments

decorating the notes of a broken A major chord. The

initial bars could thus be imagined as given in the

example below:

On the basis of this understanding it becomes

obvious that it would be misleading to describe the

pitch pattern in this piece as consisting of alternating

steps and skips, since these actually unfold on

different levels of the melodic process: the skips in

the "background" pattern, the steps within the

ornamental "surface".

The tempo of this prelude is calm but flowing; calm

enough to avoid any hurried impression (which

might be caused particularly due to finger shifting

necessary for perfect legato) and flowing enough to

convey the feeling of gently swinging compound

four-four time - rather than creeping eghth-notes.

3.2 Fugue in A major, No.19 from WTC II

The word fugue denotes “flight, escape” in Latin, and “to

assemble meticulously” in German. Both seem quite

appropriate descriptions of a fugue, which is a strictly

contrapuntal composition for a set number of parts or

voices.

It was used extensively by religious types, as the

intricate and superbly organized forms in which little

detail had its place and meaning reflected their aesthetics

and beliefs. The music was composed primarily for the

greater glory of God, and it is to this artistic attitude that

resulted in the masterpieces of the genre.

3.2.1 Subject

The subject spans one-and-a-half bars in common

time. Beginning after a eighth-note rest on the

keynote A, it concludes on the middle beat of bar 2

where C#

represents the resolution of the preceding

dominant into the tonic.

While the pitch pattern of the subject displays a

number of small curves, a closer scrutiny reveals

them as arabesques around a single larger curve.

Understanding this is important for two reasons.

Perceiving the large-scale curve helps in interpreting

the phrase structure which is that of an indivisible

unit, and comprehending the ornamental character of

the notes which embellish this curve is essential for

a correct evaluation of the many chromatic

alterations suffered by the subject in the course of

the fugue.

The rhythmic pattern, both in the subject itself and

in the fugue as a whole, is simple. The basic features

are running sixteenth-notes and dotted-note groups.

These two frequently combine sometimes in such a

way that the sixteenth-note pulse appears as the

result of a complementary rhythmic pattern. e.g. bars

5, 9, 20, 24, 28.

The harmonic background to the subject is basically

simple, although the ornamental curves and their

syncopations add momentary flavour and tension.

The example shows firstly the subject as Bach

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presents it in the opening of the fugue, followed by

the underlying large-scale curve. Both are marked

with an interpretation of the main harmonic steps:

(a)

(b)

The dynamic design follows the very simple phrase

structure with an increase through-out the first bar, a

climax on the second syncopation and a subsequent

relaxation. The syncopation on the last eighth-note of bar

1 captures the highest amount of tension: (1) metrically it

stands for the only downbeat in this subject - an

important fact in a composition where meter, due to the

simple rhythmic pattern, plays a decisive role; (2)

harmonically it represents the subdominant, i.e. the most

active step in the simple cadence.

3.2.2 Statements of the subject

There are ten subject statements in this fugue.

1.

bars 1 -

2

Lower

voice

6.

bars

12-13

Main voice

2.

bars 2-

4

Main 7.

bars

16-17

Lower

3.

bars 5 -

6

Upper 8.

bars

20-21

Upper

4.

bars 7 -

8

Lower 9.

bars

23-25

Main

5.

bars 9-

11

Upper 10.

bars

27-29

Upper

The subject suffers only two kinds of modifications in the

course of the fugue: extensions at the phrase beginning

and chromatic alteration in the ornamental sixteenth-

notes. No inversions, strettos or parallel statements occur.

3.2.3 Countersubjects

Bach invents no regular companion to the subject

that would display a minimal degree of

independence. Instead, the subject comes

accompanied by several kinds of rhythmically varied

parallels. The most frequent pattern doubles the

notes of the simplified curve in thirds below (see

bars 5/6, 9/10, 20/21, 27/28) or sixths above (see

bars 23/24). The quarter-note values are broken into

dotted-note groups which split the pitch into note

repetitions (see bars 5/6, 9/10, 27/28) or add

chromatic semitones (bars 20/21, 23/24). It may be

worth noticing that these parallels exclusively occur

between the upper and middle voices. Among the

lower-voice entries, only one incites a parallel. Yet

this is even more explicit than the previously

mentioned ones as it involves more fractions of the

ornamental pattern in the subject (see bar 7).

In four of the previously identified cases (see bars

5/6, 9/10, 20/21, 27/28), the lower voice adds a

further double-third parallel to the quarter-notes on

beats 3, 4 and 1 of the subject, so that this stretch

sounds in parallel triads - certainly an extremely rare

phenomenon in a genre that is renowned for

complex polyphony. This further parallel also comes

with dotted-note rhythm; the splitting may appear as

note repetition, octave displacement or chromatic

semitone. The following comparison of one of the

excerpts with its simplified version shows these

parallels very clearly.

3.2.4 Episodes

The fugue encompasses nine subject-free passages.

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E1

bars 4-5 E6 bars 17-20

E2 bars 6-7 E7 bars 21-23

E3 bars 8-9 E8 bars 25-27

E4 bars 11-12 E9 bar 29

E5 bars 13-16

All episodes feature the ending of the subject

prominently as their main motive.

3.2.5 Design

The entering order of the subject statements,

together with the harmonic argument in the fugue,

provides a clear picture of the structural layout.

Following is a diagram showing the design of the

fugue in A major.

The first section comprises four entries: the basic

round Lower, Main and Upper voices and a

redundant statement in the Lower. All represent the

tonic and dominant respectively of the home key.

The section ends with an imperfect cadence (a

dominant-seventh of F#

minor, on the middle beat of

bar 9).

The second section encompasses two subject

statements: Upper and Main. Both appear in minor

mode, in the relative keys to the tonic and dominant

respectively. As the two episodes E4 and E5a are

conceived in analogy to the first two episodes of

section I, a strong impression of structural

correspondence arises. This section concludes on the

downbeat of bar 16 with a perfect cadence which

marks the return to the home key.

The third section contains once more four

statements; these represent all steps of the simple

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cadence (Lower is tonic, Upper is subdominant,

Main is dominant, followed by a tonic in the Upper).

3.2.6 Overall dynamic outline

In the absence of tension-enhancing developments in the

subject statements, no dramatic climaxes are built up. By

the same token, the close thematic relationship of the

episodes and the subject discourages explicit color

contrasts of primary and secondary material. Instead, the

only large-scale shading occurs in the minor-mode

middle section which should sound slightly less brilliant

than the surrounding major-mode sections. In other

words, this is a playful, virtuoso fugue in which

joyfulness rather than dramatic developments are at issue.

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Sonata in F minor, Op. 2 No. 1

Ludwig van Beethoven

4 Biography

Ludwig Van Beethoveen was born in 1770 in Bonn,

Germany as the son of a court musician. His talent for the

piano was soon realized and he gave his first public

performance at the age of eight. Beethoven's father

wanted to promote him as the next child prodigy, another

Mozart.

Nevertheless, Beethoven was employeed as a court

musician in Bonn from 1787. At the age of 17 he studied

briefly under both Haydn and Mozart, although it was

certainly not a satisfying relationship for Beethoven. It

turns out that events in Beethoven's life greatly affected

(or seem to have affected) him writing. Because of this

Beethoven's musical output is very episodic. As we shall

see, there are three main periods in Beethoven's life,

known simply as the early, middle, and late periods.

In 1792 he settled permanently Vienna, studying briefly

with Joseph Haydn and then with Johann

Albrechtsberger. After leaving Bonn, Beethoven never

became directly attached to another court; he nevertheless

developed friendships with a number of aristocrats who

were keen musicians, including Count Waldstein, Baron

van Sweiten and Prince Lichnowsky, who supported him

financially.

In 1801, Beethoven became aware of the first signs of

deafness; by 1824 he was totally deaf. In spite of this and

poor health, he continued to write music of great genius

and strength of character.

5 Musical style

Beethoven underwent three major periods in his music

career. Each period shows his different musical style.

5.1 Vienna period (1792-1802)

Beethoven left Bonn and settled Vienna in the middle of

November 1792. Then he studied with Franz Joseph

Haydn during the first decade in Vienna and received

some of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's musical style;

therefore, about half of Beethoven's thirty-two piano

sonatas composed in his first Vienna period (1792-1802)

show Haydn-Mozart Classic influences.

Although Beethoven's music was in the stage of imitation

at this stage, his music in this period seems stronger but

rougher in texture and dynamic contracts than those of

his predecessors. Beethoven's early piano sonatas show

characteristic of symphonies (or string quartets) rather

than piano sonatas because of minuet movement,

Mannheim rockets (sudden dynamic rise over a wide

range in broken chord or tremolo), quartet harmonization,

and a symphonic slow introduction.

Important works from this period include:

• 6 String Quartets (Op.18)

• The first 10 piano sonatas (through to Op.14)

• Symphonies 1 and 2.

5.2 Heroic period (1803-1816)

After Beethoven had mastered the Haydn-Mozart Classic

styles and achieved a degree of economic success, his

middle period (1802-1814) arose. Beethoven's musical

style in this period was more like the Romantic rather

than the Classic; he more sought the potential of dramatic

musical expressions in emotion rather than musical form.

Beethoven's piano sonatas between 1802 and 1814 show

the rise of the Romanticism and his heroic inspirations in

Music.

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Beethoven's compositions in his middle period (also

known as his heroic style era) obviously show the

Romantic approach. An increase in degree of contrast

that affected the scoring and dynamics gave a varied

strength to the music. In addition, the scherzo movements

replaced the minuets of the Classic four-movement

sonata plan in many cases. Beethoven's music in this

period expressed much more instabilities in harmonic,

tonal fashion, and rhythm. Climax and resolution tended

to be delayed, and the development became extremely

large.

Important works from this period include:

• Symphonies 3 to 8

• Egmont

• Coriolan overture

• Fidelio

• Piano concertos in G and Eb

• Violin concerto

• String quartets:

o Op.59 No.1-3 Rasumovsky

o Op.74 Harp

o Op.95 Quartetto serioso

• Piano sonatas through to Op.90

5.3 Isolated/creative period (1817-1827)

About 1815, Beethoven was almost totally deaf; it was

arrival of his last period. Because of deafness, he was

isolated; consequently, the last five sonatas he composed

in the final period seem more communications between

the composer (artist) and music (art) than

communications between the composer and public

audience. Consequently, he achieved fulfillment in his

compositions, and experimented with non-standard (at

that time) musical form, structure, and tonal plan.

Important works from this period include:

• Last 5 piano sonatas

• Diabelli Variations

• Missa solemnis

• 9

th

Symphony

• String Quartets (op.127,130-132, 135)

• Grosse Fuge (originally the finale of Op.130).

6 Compositional Overview

• 9 symphonies

• 11 overtures

• Incidental music to plays

• 1 violin concerto

• 5 piano concertos

• 16 string quartets

• 9 piano trios

• 10 violin sonatas

• 5 cello sonatas

• 32 large piano sonatas

• Numerous piano variations

• 1 oratorio

• 1 opera

• 2 Masses (including the Missa Solemnis in D)

• Arias, songs and 1 song cycle

7 Analysis of Piece

A sonata (from the Italian "to sound") is a work for one

or two instruments in several contrasting movements.

Beethoven's first compositions of thirty-two piano

sonatas were op. 2 three sonatas (dedicated to his teacher

Haydn). Beethoven proved his achievement and mastery

that show the varied characters of the sonatas, the

dynamic element in the first sonata in F minor, the more

lyric character in the second sonata in A major, and the

concert-type of virtuosity in the third sonata in C major.

The Sonata in F minor Op. 2 No. 1 is the first of

Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas, and contains four

movements. It was composed in 1795, in the first of

Beethoven's three compositional "periods". It has a light

and playful character in the manner of the sonatas of

Haydn (who was for a short time Beethoven's teacher and

who was the dedicatee of the Opus 2 Sonatas), though

there are already signs of the dramatic strength which

was to characterise Beethoven's later writing.

The classical characteristics of this piece include:

• homophonic style, with simple chordal or broken

chord accompaniments.

• short, balanced phrases, often based on scales or

broken chords.

• modulations to closely related keys.

• emphasis on formal structure and thematic

development.

7.1 First movement - Sonata form, F minor, Allegro

Exposition - themes introduced in tonic and relative

major keys.

First subject (b. 1-8) Main theme, lively character, all

in F minor, ending with an

imperfect cadence.

PROGRAMME NOTES

11

Transition (9-20) Begins with the main theme in

the bass in C minor, answered

imitatively in soprano and alto

Modulates to Ab major (relative

major), ending with an imperfect

cadence.

2nd subject (20-41) In two parts. The first (b.20-32)

is in Ab minor, with a dominant

pedal in b.20-25. The second

(b.33-41) is in Ab major, ending

with a perfect cadence in b.40-

41.

Codetta (41-48) All in Ab major, with some

diminished 7th chords, ending

with a perfect cadence.

Development - themes reworked in various keys.

49-55 First subject theme, beginning

in Ab major and modulating to

Bb minor in b.55.

55-81 Second subject theme (first

part), beginning in Bb minor,

then C minor (b.64), Bb minor

again (b.70), and Ab minor

(b.72). From b.74, the theme is

extended in Ab major and (from

b.77) F minor.

81 -94 All in F minor, with a dominant

pedal.

95-100 A sequential passage, using the

triplet rhythm from the main

theme, ending on a dominant 7th

of F minor in b. 100.

Recapitulation - themes restated, now mostly in the

tonic key.

1st subject (101-108) F minor, as before, with small

rhythmic changes.

Transition (109-119) Transposed and slightly altered,

now beginning with the main

theme in F minor and ending

with an imperfect cadence in F

minor.

2nd subject (119-140) Now also all in F minor.

Coda (140-152) All in F minor, with the final

cadence delayed by the insertion

of b.146-151.

7.2 Second movement - Ternary form, F major,

Adagio

Section A1 (b.1-16) Main theme, all in F major, in

four 4-bar phrases. There is an

imperfect cadence in b.3-4, a

perfect cadence in b.7-8 and 15-

16, and a dominant pedal in b.9-

12.

SectionB (17-31) Begins in D minor (relative

minor) and modulates to C major

(dominant) in b.21, with a

perfect cadence in b.26-27.

Returns to F major in b.31.

Section A2 (32-47) A restatement, with

embellishments, of the main

theme. All in F major, using

fragments of the main theme,

with mostly dominant-tonic

harmony and some

chromaticism.

Coda (48-61) The ornaments used in this

movement are turns and

acciaccaturas (crushed notes).

7.3 Third movement - Minuet & Trio form, F

minor, Allegretto

A Minuet (or Minuetto) is a stately French dance in triple

time, so named because of the small (minute) dance

steps. The Trio is another Minuet of contrasting

character. The Minuetto and Trio are each in rounded

binary form - i.e. there are two repeated sections, and the

opening melody returns midway through the second

section. At the end of the Trio, the instruction Minuetto

D. C. indicates that the Minuetto is to be played again,

without the repeats. The overall form of the movement is

a type of ternary form called Minuet and Trio form.

Minuetto - F minor

Section A (b.1-14) Begins in F minor and modulates

in b.5 to Ab major (relative

major), ending with a perfect

cadence.

Section B (15-28) Modulates via sequence to Bb

minor (subdominant) in b.17,

then returns to F minor in b.25.

(29-40) Opening theme returns (in the

bass at first), now remaining in F

minor, ending with a perfect

cadence.

Trio - F major

PROGRAMME NOTES

12

Section A (41-50) Begins in F major and modulates

in b.47 to C major (dominant),

ending with a perfect cadence.

Section B (51-65) Based on the opening theme,

beginning in C major, returning

to F major in b.53, ending on a

dominant 7th of F in b.65.

(66-73) Opening theme returns, now

remaining in F major. The grace

notes in this movement are

appoggiaturas (leaning notes).

7.4 Fourth movement - Sonata form, F minor,

Prestissimo

Exposition - themes introduced in tonic and dominant

keys.

First subject (b. 1-5) The robust main theme consists

of crotchet chords with a triplet

accompaniment, all in F minor

and based almost entirely on the

tonic chord.

Transition (5-21) The main theme is answered by

a more lyrical melody in b.6,

which begins in Ab major

(relative major) then returns to F

minor. The first subject theme

returns in b.13, now in C minor

(dominant) and based almost

entirely on the dominant chord.

2nd subject (22-50) C minor. The triplets from the

first subject continue, but the

melody is more sustained. There

are many sequences. Modulates

to Eb major in b.35-38 and 43-

46. Some chromatic harmony is

used (e.g. diminished 7ths end of

b.22 and b.28, augmented 6ths

end of b.39). There are perfect

cadences in b.29-30, 41-42 and

49-50.

Codetta (50-58) First subject theme in C minor.

Development - a contrasting episode, based in part on

the first subject theme.

59-109 A new theme, all in Ab major.

109-119 First subject theme, pp and in

octaves rather than full chords,

in Ab major then F minor.

120-126 Moving through Db major and

Bb minor then back to F minor.

127-137 Dominant pedal, F

minor, using the rhythms of the

first subject.

Recapitulation - themes restated, now mostly in the

tonic key.

1st subject (138-142) F minor, as before.

Transition (142-160) The lyrical theme returns in Ab

major and F minor as before, but

the ending is altered, so that the

return of the first subject theme

in b. 152 is now in F minor,

based on the dominant chord.

2nd subject (161-189) Now also in F minor.

Codetta (189-196) First subject theme in F minor.

PROGRAMME NOTES

13

D’ombre et de Silence, Prelude No. 1

Henri Dutilleux

8 Biography

As a young man, Dutilleux studied harmony,

counterpoint and piano with Victor Gallois at the Douai

Conservatory before leaving for Paris. There from 1933

to 1938 he attended the classes of Jean and Noël Gallon

(harmony and counterpoint), Henri-Paul Busser

(composition) and Maurice Emmanuel (history of music)

at the Paris Conservatoire.

Dutilleux won the Prix de Rome in 1938 for his cantata

L'Anneau du Roi but did not complete the entire

residency in Rome due to the outbreak of World War II.

He worked for a year as a medical orderly in the army

and then came back to Paris in 1940 where he worked as

a pianist, arranger and music teacher and in 1942

conducted the choir of the Paris Opera.

Dutilleux worked as Head of Music Production for

French Radio from 1943 to 1963. He served as Professor

of Composition at the École Normale de Musique de

Paris from 1961 to 1970. He was appointed to the staff of

the Paris Conservatoire in 1970. His students include

French composers Gérard Grisey and Francis Bayer and

Canadian composer Jacques Hétu.

9 Musical style

Dutilleux's music extends the legacies of earlier French

composers like Debussy and Ravel but is also clearly

influenced by Béla Bartók and Igor Stravinsky. His

attitude towards Serialism is more problematic. While he

has always paid attention to the developments of

contemporary music and has incorporated some serialist

techniques into his own compositions, he has also

denounced the more radical and intolerant aspects of the

movement. As an independent composer, Dutilleux has

always refused to be associated with any school. Rather,

his works merge the traditions of earlier composers and

post-World War II innovations and translate them into his

own idiosyncratic style. His music also contains echoes

of jazz as can be heard in the double bass introduction to

his First Symphony and his frequent use of syncopated

rhythms.

In his later works Dutilleux found a more individual

musical voice. His Piano Sonata, composed in 1947, is

the work with which the composer feels he first reached

his mature style.

Some of Dutilleux's trademarks include very refined

orchestral textures, fluid and intricate rhythms, a

preference for atonality and modality over tonality and

"reverse variation" by which a theme is not exposed

immediately but rather revealed gradually, appearing in

its complete form only after a few partial, tentative

expositions. His music also displays a very strong sense

of structure and symmetry. This is particularly obvious

from an "external" point of view i.e. the overall

organisation of the different movements or the spatial

distribution of the various instruments but is also

apparent in the music itself (themes, harmonies and

rhythms mirroring, complementing or opposing each

other).

Most of his works have a dreamlike, highly poetic

quality, which makes them relatively more accessible

than those of many other post-World War II composers.

Much of Dutilleux's music has been influenced by art and

literature, such as by the works of the painter Vincent van

Gogh, poet Charles Baudelaire and novelist Marcel

Proust.

A perfectionist with an acute sense of artistic integrity, he

has allowed only a small number of his works to be

published, and what he does publish he often revises and

adjusts even after.

PROGRAMME NOTES

14

10 Major works

10.1 Orchestral

• Danse Fantastique for orchestra (1942) (*)

1

• Symphony No. 1 (1951)

• Symphony No. 2 Le Double (1959)

• Métaboles (1964)

• Timbre, Espace, Mouvement ou la Nuit Etoilée

(1978)

• Mystère de l'Instant (1989)

10.2 Concerti

• Cello Concerto Tout un Monde Lointain (1970)

• Violin Concerto L'Arbre des Songes (1985)

• Nocturne for Violin and Orchestra Sur le Même

Accord (2002)

10.3 Chamber/Instrumental

• Sarabande et Cortège for bassoon and piano

(1942) (*)

• Flute Sonatina (1943) (*)

• Au Gré des Ondes for piano (1946) (*)

• Oboe Sonata (1947) (*)

• Piano Sonata (1948)

• Choral, Cadence et Fugato for trombone and

piano (1950)

• Tous les Chemins for piano (1961)

• Bergerie for piano (1963)

• Résonances for piano (1965)

• Figures de Résonances for piano (1970)

• 3 Préludes for piano (1973-1988)

• String Quartet Ainsi la Nuit (1976)

• Trois Strophes sur le Nom de Sacher for solo

cello (1976-1982)

• Les Citations for oboe, harpsichord, double bass

and percussions (1991)

10.4 Choral

• The Shadows of Time, for 3 children voices and

orchestra (1997)

*

Dutilleux has disowned most of these works, written before his piano

sonata.

10.5 Vocal

• Cantata L'Anneau du Roi (1938) (*)

• Quatre Mélodies for voice and piano (1943) (*)

• La Geôle for voice and orchestra (1944) (*)

• Deux Sonnets de Jean Cassou, for baritone and

piano (1954)

• San Francisco Night, for voice and piano (1963)

• Correspondances, for soprano and orchestra

(2003)

10.6 Ballet

• Le Loup (1953)

11 Analysis of Piece

11.1 Elements of style found in piece

The first of Dutilleux's three Preludes for piano, D'ombre

et de silence (Shadows and Silence), was composed in

1973 and dedicated to the pianist Arthur Rubinstein. It is

in a free formal structure, and displays the following

characteristics of Dutilleux's style:

• Although he rarely writes programme music, he

often uses evocative titles or epigraphs,

sometimes with mystical or spiritual

connotations.

• He continuously transforms his thematic

material; direct recapitulations are rare.

• He writes in a complex chromatic harmonic

language, but retains a sense of tonal

organisation through the use of pedal notes or

recurring chords. His music is rarely completely

atonal, and he has used 12-note serial techniques

only occasionally in his compositions.

• Sonority and register are as important as pitch

and harmony in the overall structure.

Specifically, the ascent from bass to treble

registers over the course of the piece can be

found in a number of his important works (such

as the Passacaglia in his first Symphony).

• Like Bartok, he often used symmetrical or

reversible musical figures.

11.2 Structural analysis

Bars 1-5

(The anacrusis bar is not numbered). Bass register. Bar 1

introduces the main theme. The harmonies are very

dense, almost approaching tone clusters, but in b.l all of

the notes are from the scale of G# major. The very low

PROGRAMME NOTES

15

pedal notes in b.l and b.5 also confirm G# as a tonal

centre, even though the scale of G# major becomes

irrelevant after the first bar. Bar 5 is based mostly on a

whole-tone scale (C#-D#-E#-Fx-A-B).

Bars 6-9

Moves to middle register. The harmonies are less dense

than before, and are mostly constructed from whole tones

or 4ths (perfect and augmented). The low pedal note

returns in b.7 as a unifying element. Bars 6 and 8 are very

similar to each other; b.7 is like a retrograde (or reversal)

of b.6, and b.9 is a transposition of b.6.

Bars 10-12

A return to the bass register.

Bars 13-16

Return to the middle register, with the low pedal notes

returning in b.13-15. A transformation of the main theme

can be heard in the top voice in b.l3 (B#-C#-D#-D) and

in the left hand in b. 14 (transposed to E-F-G-F#).

Fragments of the main theme (a rising semitone then

rising tone) can be heard in other right hand voices in

bars 14-15.

Bars 17-19

Moves to treble register. The low pedal note returns one

last time in b.l8. A new theme in the high treble register

is heard in b.17 and transformed in b.19.

11.3 Performance Notes

Lent means slowly; the suggested tempo is approximately

(environ) 42 beats per minute.

pp mats cuivre means very soft, but brassy;

perdendosi means dying away.

The pedal markings, suggested only on the first page, are

by no means restrictive (they should provide inspiration

for the following pages).

The passage marked with a dotted slur must be obviously

played without pedals. The ear must thus be able to

follow the line of the resonances which remain.

PROGRAMME NOTES

16

Petrarch Sonnet 104

from Years of Pilgrimage, Book II

Franz Liszt

12 Biography

Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was handsome, magnetic.

irresistible to women, and an incredible showman, and a

pacesetter in musical history. During the 1840s, he

performed superhuman feats at the piano, overwhelming

the European public and impressing musicians as much

as concertgoers.

Chopin wished that he could play his own piano etudes

the way Liszt did. Schumann wrote that Liszt "enmeshed

every member of the audience with his art and did with

them as he willed." Brahms later said, "Whoever has not

heard Liszt cannot speak of piano playing."

Liszt was born in Hungary; his father was an

administrator for the Esterhazy family (which Haydn had

also served). At age eleven, Liszt studied in Vienna,

where he met Schubert and Beethoven; during his teens

and twenties, he lived in Paris, a city where romanticism

flourished and a mecca for virtuosos. When he was

nineteen and already acclaimed, Liszt was awed by the

great violinist Paganini, who drove audiences into a

frenzy and was half suspected of being in league with the

devil. Young Liszt was determined to become the

Paganini of the piano. He withdrew from the concert

stage for a few years, practiced from eight to twelve

hours a day, and emerged as probably the greatest pianist

of his time.

To display his incomparable mastery, Liszt composed his

Transcendental Etudes and made piano transcriptions of

Paganini's violin pieces. 'My piano,' he wrote, 'is my very

self… Ten finger have the power to reproduce the

harmonies which are created by hundreds of performers.'

Once, after an orchestral performance of a movement

from Berlioz's Fantastic Symphony, Liszt played his own

piano arrangement and made a more powerful effect than

the entire orchestra. He toured Europe tirelessly between

1839 and 1847, playing mainly his own piano music and

receiving unprecedented adulation.

But Liszt also wanted recognition as a serious composer.

At thirty-six, he abandoned his career as a traveling

virtuoso to become court conductor in Weimar, where he

composed many orchestral pieces (developing a new and

influential form of program music) and conducted works

by such contemporaries as Berlioz, Schumann, and

Wagner. Unselfish and generous, he taught hundreds of

gifted pianists free of charge and provided musical and

financial support crucial to Wagner's success. He also

wrote music criticism and books on Chopin and on

Gypsy music. His literary efforts were aided by two

aristocratic women writers: Countess Marie d'Agoult and,

later the Russian Princess Carolyne Sayn-Wittgenstein.

(Marie d'Agoult left her husband to live with Liszt; she

and Liszt had three children, one of whom , Cosima, later

left her own husband to marry Richard Wagner.)

Liszt went to Rome for religious studies in 1861, and in

1865 he took minor holy orders, becoming Abbe Liszt.

This seeming incongruity - a notorious Don Juan and

diabolical virtuoso as churchman - stunned his

contemporaries. In Rome, he composed oratorios and

masses.

During his last years, Liszt traveled between Rome,

Weimar, and Budapest, where he was president of the

new Academy of Music. Now he began to write curious,

experimental piano pieces that foreshadowed some

features of twentieth-century music. Though these late

works went unappreciated, Liszt had become a living

legend. The grand duke of Weimar said, 'Liszt was what

a prince ought to be.'

PROGRAMME NOTES

17

- From Music: an Appreciation by Roger Kamien,

Third Brief Edition, McGraw Hill Companies, Inc. Pages

233-236.

13 Musical Style and Influences

Liszt's music is controversial. Some consider it vulgar

and bombastic; others revel in his extroverted romantic

rhetoric. Yet few would deny Liszt's originality, his

influence, or his importance as the creator of the

symphonic poem.

Liszt found new ways to exploit the piano; his melodies

are sometimes surrounded by arpeggios that create the

impression of three hands playing; and in the Hungarian

Rhapsodies, which influenced a generation of nationalist

composers, he makes the piano sound at times like an

entire Gypsy band. His piano works contain daring leaps,

rapid octaves and runs, and an unprecedented range of

dynamics. Before the age of recordings and frequent

concerts, Liszt's transcriptions made it possible for people

to play operas and symphonies on their own pianos.

Breaking away form classical sonata form and the

standard four-movement-symphony, Liszt created the

symphonic poem, or tone poem, a one movement

orchestral composition based to some extent on literary

or pictorial ideas. Among his favourite inspirations were

the works of Goethe, on which he based his Faust

Symphony (1854); and those of Dante, which inspired the

Dante Symphony (1856). Many of his compositions are

concerned with he devil or death and bear titles like

Mephisto Waltz, Totentanz (Dance of Death), and

Funerailles. Constant changes of tempo and mood and

alternations between diabolical fury and semi religious

meditation contribute to a feeling of improvisation; but in

his symphonic poems and other orchestral works,

contrasting moods are often unified through thematic

transformations of a single, recurring musical idea.

Liszt's music influenced many composers, including

Wagner, who admitted to him: 'When I compose and

orchestrate, I always think only of you.' As a stupendous

performer, innovative composer, and charismatic

personality, Liszt typified the romantic movement.

In the book, Building A Classical Music Library, Bill

Parker writes, "Liszt was about seven or eight people

rolled into one: piano virtuoso, composer, conductor,

music teacher, author, man of the cloth, notorious lover,

and all-around unforgettable character. No one else in the

history of classical music was more rabidly Romantic,

more outrageous, more controversial, more energetic,

more downright amazing. Asked late in life if he had

written his memoirs, Liszt replied, 'It is enough to have

lived such a life as mine.'

He invented the 'tone poem,' a short orchestral form of

loose construction meant to picture or apostrophise a

poetic, literary, or historical subject. He originated a type

of composition based on 'transformation of themes' which

went against the established dogmas and influenced

dozens of composers after him. He was the first to give

solo piano recitals (in fact, the term 'recital' probably was

his coinage), and the first to perform at the piano in

'profile position.'

Despite his many notorious liaisons with high-titled

women (accompanied by duels, attempted poisonings,

and grotesque adventures outlandish enough to fill a

dozen purple novels), Liszt's significance to history is

principally as a pianist. He was said by everyone who

heard him--and that was half of Europe--to be the greatest

pianist who ever lived. With his long hair and demonic

good looks, he had women swooning at this concerts, but

despite an excess of showmanship, there was real

substance to his musical style. He was apparently able to

sight-read almost anything, playing it on a read-through

with a mixture of spontaneity and depth, chatting all the

while with ladies right and left of the piano.

14 Major works

• Variation on a Theme by Diabelli (S/G147, R26)

• (1826) Etude in Twelve Exercises, including

No. 10 in F Minor

• (1832) Grande Fantasie de Bravoure sur La

Clochette, variations (S/G420, R321)

• (1833) Arrangement of "March to the Scaffold"

from Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique

(S/G470, R136)

• (1833) Divertissement on the Cavatina "I tuoi

frequenti palpiti" from Pacini's La Niobe

(S/G419, R230)

• (1838) Grandes Etudes de Paganini, including

No. 3, "La Campanella"; and No. 5, "La

Chasse" (revised 1851)

• (1841) Feuilles d'album ('Album Leaves'),

(S/G165)

• (1841) Réminiscences de Don Juan, (S/G418)

• (1845-48) Ballade No. 1 in D flat : Ballade No. 1

in Des-dur

PROGRAMME NOTES

18

• (1848) Three Concert Etudes (French: Trois

Études de Concert); No. 3, Un Sospiro

("A sigh"), Etude No. 39 (piano solo)

(S/G144, R5)

• (1848-53) Années de Pèlerinage: Première Année

— Suisse; Deuxième Année — Italie -

Venezia e Napoli; Troisième Année

• (1848-61) Twelve Symphonic Poems

o Ce qu'on entend sur la montagne, (1848-

9) (after Victor Hugo)

o Tasso: lamento e trionfo, (1849) (after

Byron)

o Les préludes, after Lamartine (1848, rev.

before 1854)

o Orpheus, (1853-4)

o Prometheus, (1850)

o Mazeppa, (1851)

o Festklänge, (1853)

o Héroïde funèbre, (1849-50)

o Hungaria, (1854)

o Hamlet, (1858)

o Hunnenschlacht, (1857)

o Die Ideale (1857), after Schiller

• (1849) Piano Concerto no. 1 in E-flat Major

(S/G124)

• (1849) Piano Concerto no. 2 in A Major (S/G125)

(revised 1861)

• (1849) Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses,

(S/G173) a collection of solo piano pieces,

including the often-performed No. 7,

Funérailles

• (1849) Totentanz ('Dance of death') (S/G126ii), for

piano and orchestra. (revised 1853-1859)

• (1850) Liebesträume No. 3 ("Dreams of Love") in

A-flat Major (piano solo) (S/G541, R211)

• (1851) Transcendental Etudes (Prelude, Molto

Vivace, Paysage, Mazeppa, Feux Follets,

Vision, Eroica, Wilde Jagd, Ricordanza,

Allegro Agitato Molto, Harmonies du soir,

and Chasse-niege. Known well for being

technically difficult, notedly Mazeppa and

Feux Follets) (S/G139, R2B)

• (1851) Nineteen Hungarian Rhapsodies (S/G244,

R106) - Rhapsody No. 2 became famous in

the modern day as a popular piece for

accompaniment of animated cartoons,

during the golden age of animation;

Rhapsody No. 19 in D Minor (1885) is also

of note.

• (1851) Polonaise No. 1 in C minor

• (1852) Valse-Impromptu, (S/G213)

• (1853) Piano Sonata in B minor (S/G178, R21)

• (1853) Ballade No. 2 in B minor:Ballade No. 2 in

H-Moll

• (1854) Faust Symphony

• (1855) Prelude and Fugue on B-A-C-H for organ,

rev. 1870

• (1857) Dante Symphony

• (1860) Mephisto Waltz No. 1 (piano solo)

(S/G514, R181)

• (1866) Christus (S/G3)

• (1877)

• (1881) Nuages Gris ('Grey clouds') (S/G199,

R78)

• (1885) Bagatelle sans tonalité (S216a)

- From Wikipedia, “Franz Liszt Noted Works” 2006

15 Analysis of Piece

15.1 Annees de pelerinage

Liszt's Duexieme annee: Italie (Second Year: Italy) from

Annees de pelerinage (Years of Pilgrimage) contains

seven pieces with allusions to great Italian painters

(Raphael, Michelangelo and Rosa) or writers (Petrarch

and Dante), and was first published in 1858.

They are archetypal works of the Romantic era,

characterised by:

• intense passion, with detailed expressive

instructions.

• lyrical melodies, with long flowing phrases.

• lush chromatic harmonies.

• frequent tempo changes and use of tempo rubato.

• full textures, and frequent use of sustaining

pedal.

• wide range of pitch and dynamics.

• unexpected modulations, frequently based on

3rds rather than 5ths.

• virtuosic decorations of the melody (transforming

rather than developing the themes).

15.2 Sonnetto 104 del Petrarca

The three Sonetti del Petrarca (Petrarch Sonnets) were

originally written as songs, transcribed for piano solo in

1844-5, then further revised for inclusion in Annees.

Sonetto 104 is in a modified strophic song form - the

main theme is stated, and then undergoes three

transformations, with increasingly virtuosic melodic

decorations. The main key is E major. The augmented

chord is featured prominently in the main theme.

PROGRAMME NOTES

19

Introduction (b.1-6)

b.1-4 Notated without key signature.

Predominantly diminished 7th

harmony, with highly syncopated

rhythm. Strong and dramatic.

5-6 Based around the dominant 9th

chords of E major (b.5) and C#

minor (b.6)

Main Theme (b.7-20)

7-14 E major; two 4-bar phrases. The

second begins a tone lower than the

first, in the seemingly unrelated key

of D major, but ends with a perfect

cadence in E major. Augmented

chords are used in b.8 and b.12.

15-20 Begins in C# minor, with theme in

tenor voice. Returns to E major in b.

19.

Transformation 1 (b.21-37)

21-28 Very similar to b.7-14. The melody

is now an octave higher, with small

rhythmic changes and a broken

chord accompaniment.

29-37 Similar to b. 15-20, but the theme is

now in the top voice, and is

extended, modulating to G# minor in

b.40, with the final cadence

decorated by a short cadenza.

Returns to E major in b.37.

Transformation 2 (b.38-53)

38-45 Harmonically identical to b.7-14, but

much with more virtuosic figuration.

46-53 Further transformation of b.7-14,

with melodic variation, beginning in

C# major and modulating to E minor

in b.50 (i.e. reversing the previous E

major - C# minor modality) then to

G major in b.53.

Episode (b.54-57)

54-57 New theme in G major, with

flattened 6th (Eb).

Transformation 3 (b.58-63)

58-63 Using the rhythm of the theme from

b. 15-20, now more fragmented, in E

minor.

Episode (b.64-67)

64-67 New theme in E major, sometimes

with flattened 6th (C) or other

chromatic alterations, with a perfect

cadence in b.67-68.

Coda (b.68-79)

68-79 All in E major, with an augmented

chord used in bars 69, 71 and 78.