Form or structure in music refers to how the music is constructed or put together. There are many different forms or structures that have developed throughout music history. Some are more complicated than others, some more widely used than others and some that rarely see the light of day.
Perhaps the most commonly understood and exploited form would be binary form. As the name suggests, this is simply an A followed by a B section, one contrasting the other. Most commercial songs broadly fall into this form.
Evolution from Binary Structure
Sonata form has understandably become synonymous with sonatas. A sonata is commonly a piece for a solo instrument plus a piano or harpsichord. The reason these are closely associated is that, as we move into the Classical Period of music, the form of the sonata’s opening movement was in sonata form.
The remaining movements were frequently in binary, ternary and rondo forms, with the rondo concluding the sonata. (As a point of note, the rondo form directly evolved from ritornello, which was so brilliantly exploited by Antonio Vivaldi).
What we discover in sonata form is that it is essentially an evolutionary step up from binary form. You will remember that binary form has two sections (A & B), that are in some way contrasting.
This often arrives as a different melody, a change in harmony, or a rhythmic development. Sometimes it is all of these elements and more. It is the juxtaposition of the A & B sections that provides interest and enables the music to extend and remain engaging.
Sonata Form Evolution In Classical Music
Whilst sonatas were composed during the Baroque period the concept of sonata form had not emerged. Some of the most exuberant sonatas from this period are those of Dominico Scarlatti composed for the keyboard. Some of these are single-movement works but have the title sonata.
CPE Bach was one of the most significant contributors to the evolution of sonata form. His approach to melodic writing was unique, almost motivic at times.
Equally CPE Bach’s thematic writing made a bond between the theme and the harmony in a way that had not previously been attempted. The influence CPE Bach’s innovation had on Joseph Haydn and WA Mozart is significant.
A Landmark in Sonata Form Development
Sonata Form comes to life during the Classical Period. Many consider Joseph Haydn’s Op.33 set of string quartets from 1781 to be the first distinctive use of sonata form as it is currently recognised. In these string quartets, the now-established four-movement structure is clear.
The opening movement is in sonata form and allegre, the second a scherzo, the third a slower movement and the fourth a rondo. They are an energetic, lyrical and humorous collection of quartets that demonstrate Haydn’s exemplary handling of the ensemble and sonata form.
Let’s dig a little deeper into the finer points of what sonata form actually is. We know it evolved from binary and ternary forms that had dominated the musical landscape for hundreds of years.
We also know that it was extensively used and developed throughout the Classical period of music, commonly in the first movement of a sonata. Sonata form also regularly defined the structure for opening movements of concertos and symphonies.
Exposition: Introducing Themes
Sonata form falls into three substantial sections. The first is called the exposition, the second the development and the third the recapitulation. Already you can see from these three components that there is a radical difference between sonata form and for example ternary or binary form. It is also possible, however, to see the evolutionary link too.
This is perhaps most evident in the exposition section. It is in this part of the sonata form that we meet the musical ideas, the themes that provide the material for the entire movement. Where this links to earlier forms is in the fact that the exposition contains two contrasting themes. They are also closely related to the harmony of the movement.
By this, I mean that sonata form depends on tonality for its integrity. Theme one therefore is composed in the tonic key whilst the second theme is in the dominant. The tonic, dominant polarity anchors the thematic material into a harmonic position that can then be fully explored and exploited in the development section.
Development: Expanding Musical Ideas
The development section marks sonata form out as distinct and new when compared to previous musical structures. What this important section offers the composer is a valuable time to explore the melodic, harmonic, rhythmic and textural characteristics of their music.
It was not a feature of music that had been composed in past Eras and would give composers immense freedom to take a deep dive into their material.
As the classical period progressed, this section grew ever more important. From relatively modest development sections in the early works of the Classical composers, in the mighty hands of Beethoven, the development section almost becomes a form in its own right.
Such was the creative ingenuity of Beethoven that he seemed to be able to generate almost endless music from the smallest of ideas that were fully exploited in the development sections. (Listen to his later string quartets, last three symphonies and his final piano sonatas).
Recapitulation: Returning to Themes
In the concluding section of sonata form, the recapitulation, the composer returns to the opening ideas. In its simplest manifestation, this section can be a replaying of the exposition with little variation, but as the form developed in the Classical period we hear ever more sophisticated examples of extensive development.
This culminates in the work of Beethoven, who bridges the divide between Classical and Romantic Eras.
Evolution into Romanticism
Sonata form continues to be a vitally important musical form as the Romantic Era moves forward but its nature dramatically alters. In the symphonic works of Bruckner and Sibelius, you can easily trace the origins of opening movements to sonata form but both of the masters utilize the form individually.
Likewise, Mahler writes in sonata form in his symphonies however, the tonal balance that orientated the harmony is expanded into a highly complex chromatic construction that Classical composers would find ugly and far too ostentatious.
Modern Interpretations
Such is the development of the original sonata form that the three sections in some Romantic compositions become an entire piece in their own right with the development taking all the limelight. This leads to a more motivic construction of music, leitmotifs and the intricate interlinking of these smaller ideas to form larger compositions.
Liszt’s Sonata in B Minor (1853), is an example of what I mean. The piano work is a vastly exploded sonata form piece that lasts thirty minutes and illustrates just how far the idea of the earlier structure has progressed.
Today, composers such as John White, still compose sonatas, although they are now so removed from where WA Mozart or Joseph Haydn had worked as to be almost irreconcilable.