sonata form - definition of sonata form by the Free Online Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. sonata form n 1. Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003 sona′ta form`n. a musical form comprising an exposition, a development section, and a recapitulation of the exposition. Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Thesaurus Legend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc. Translations Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co.
Sonata Form Simplified
From the Italian sonare meaning simply "to sound," the sonata has undergone enough changes throughout music history to fill several encyclopedic volumes, as some scholars have indeed given us. Fortunately for us, however, sonata form nearly always refers to a single-movement structure used throughout the Classical period. It's no wonder musical terms are confusing. What's most important about any musical form is not some dry, academic analysis but rather its dramatic implication. Let's take a look at traditional sonata form in the Classical era. Let's review: if it was written more or less between Mozart's birth and Beethoven's death, has several movements, the first of which is in sonata form, and is written for just one or two instruments, it's called a "sonata"... but if it's written for a full orchestra it's called a "symphony." I know that's confusing, but bear with me and I promise to simplify things. Exposition The exposition introduces the main themes. Development Recapitulation
History of sonata form
Sonata form is one of the most influential ideas in the history of Western classical music. Since the establishment of the practice by composers like C.P.E. Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert and the codification of this practice into teaching and theory, the practice of writing works in sonata form has changed considerably. Late Baroque era (ca 1710 – ca 1750)[edit] Classical era (ca 1750 – ca 1820)[edit] The older Italian sonata form differs considerably from the later sonata in the works of the Viennese Classical masters.[1] Between the two main types, the older Italian and the more "modern" Viennese sonata, various transitional types are manifest in the middle of the 18th century, in the works of the Mannheim composers, Johann Stamitz, Franz Xaver Richter, C.P.E. The piano sonata had its inception with Johann Kuhnau, the predecessor of J.S. The practice of the great Classical masters, specifically Haydn and Mozart, forms the basis for the description of the sonata form.
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