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Paul Sarasien
Music Theory Paper
This paper will examine the first movement of Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 13, no. 8 in C
minor. I will compare it to the traditional sonata form by discussing the large scale form of the
piece, and then by looking at each part of the piece in chronological order. I will discuss the
important melodic motifs, harmonic structure, and modulations for each section. Then, I will
relate each section to its typical counterpart of sonata form. Finally, I will summarize my
findings.
The large scale form of Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 13, no. 8, movement i, is sonata form.
The piece begins with an introduction at a slow Grave tempo. The introduction is ten measures
long, and the exposition begins at measure 11. The exposition begins in c minor and then
modulates to Eb major during the transition. It ends with a half cadence in c minor before
moving on to the development at measure 132. The development changes keys many times and
ends at measure 168 after a long stand on the dominant of c minor. The recapitulation begins on
measure 195 in c minor just as the exposition did. It briefly moves through Db major, and f
minor, before returning on c minor again. The coda begins on measure 295 and concludes on 310
and it is entirely in c minor.
All of the slow sections, such as the introduction, the beginning of the development, and
the beginning of the coda, do not hold a specific key. There are a few secondary dominants in
this section and at measure five it modulates to Eb major, then in measure six it modulates to g
minor before returning to c minor. The introduction appears to take up a large portion of the song
but in reality it lasts only ten measures, while the entire piece is over 300 measures long. It
clearly begins in c minor, but never authentically cadences in that key. This section extensively
uses a dotted sixteenth note-thirty-second note rhythm pattern found in musical example 1. This
pattern ascends melodically with a descending bass line. This pattern is played four times in a
sequence. The first two times it is played, this motif takes up an entire measure. The last two
times it is played in the same measure. This rhythm appears throughout the entire introduction
section with different melodies and harmonies, but each time it rises a third and falls by step.
Throughout this section, Beethoven includes a variety of dynamics to captivate the listener.
Beethoven begins with a fortepiano, followed by music that is very soft. Beethoven includes
several sudden changes from piano to fortissimo and also includes gradual crescendos over a
measure or two measures. Beethoven includes two very quick passages that use divisions as
small as 128th notes. This symbolizes that the performer should play these notes extremely fast.
The introduction concludes with a quick descent from Eb 6 down to B 3 and ends on a half
cadence in c minor.
The exposition contains four different parts. It begins with the primary theme which is in
c minor and ends with a perfect authentic cadence on measure 19. The transition begins in c
minor and modulates to eb major ending on measure 49 with a half cadence. The secondary
theme starts at measure 51 and remains in the key of eb minor before ending with a perfect
authentic cadence at measure 121. The closing ends at measure 137 with a half cadence and the
exposition then repeats.
The exposition begins at measure 11 with “Allegro di molto e con brio,” a much faster
and lighter tempo and style. The primary theme ends at measure 19 with a perfect authentic
cadence. The primary theme begins in c minor and includes a pedal on c that then ascends
harmonically. Melodically, this section ascends for four measures and descends for four
measures, shown in musical example 2. This eight measure phrase ends in a perfect authentic
cadence. This section also uses dynamics to enhance the music. Each phrase begins with a piano
marking and contains a sforzando on the second long note in the phrase. Halfway through the
phrase, there is a crescendo, followed by a piano dynamic at the beginning of the next phrase.
This theme is a sentence.
The transition begins at measure 19 with a near repeat of the primary theme, except it
ends on a half cadence on the dominant of c minor. It later modulates to eb minor before ending
with a half cadence at measure 49. The transition includes two motifs. The first motif plays
sforzandos on beat 3 for two measures and then descends melodically for two measures. This
repeats identically. The second motif is an ascending melodic line over a pedal. This is played
three times, ascending harmonically each time from G to Ab to Bb. This is followed by more
sforzandos on beat three that quickly descend over a dominant pedal, leading to a half cadence in
eb minor. This section uses crescendos for each ascending line and ends on piano.
The secondary theme begins in measure 51 on the tonic of eb minor. It switches between
the tonic and dominant of eb minor, and then switches between the tonic and dominant of Db
major. It finally ends with a perfect authentic cadence, just as a secondary theme should, but
firmly establishes the new key of eb minor, instead of the expected key of eb major. Melodically,
this section ascends using two similar motifs, and then descends using two different alternating
motifs, shown in musical example 3. The first ascending motif travels from the dominant by
leaping up a fourth, and then ascends two steps to the minor third, just as the motif in the
introduction did. It skips an octave and begins on the dominant repeating the pattern. The second
ascending motif begins on the dominant, leaps up a fifth, and ascends two steps to the
predominant. It skips an octave starting on the dominant and leaps a seventh to descend by step
to the minor third, ending in the same position as the previous ascending motif. The first
descending motif plays a dotted half note sforzando on the minor third with a grace note on the
dominant below. This is followed by a quarter note on the tonic below. After this is repeated,
there is another note that leaps back down to the next ascending pattern. The second descending
pattern descends by step using mordents, ornamentations that quickly alternate between two
notes. This starts on the minor third and goes down to the tonic. That descends to the submediant
and then returns to the tonic. This is followed by a leap down to the next ascending pattern.
These patterns repeat four times each. The final pattern with the ornamental mordents is
extended and includes a decrescendo the final time. The harmony and melody descend with a
decrescendo. The next four measures of the secondary theme feature long notes in the bass and
soprano, while the middle two voices play alternating eighth notes. The next six bars contain an
arpeggio pattern that ascends in the upper voices and descends in the bass. The next two bars
begin with a bass note, and end in an arpeggio in the top voice with no other voices being used.
Next, the earlier bass pattern of this theme returns with a descending melodic pattern. This
pattern cadences, repeats with the bass an octave lower and cadences again. This section ends
with a perfect authentic cadence in Eb major at measure 121.
The closing beings at measure 121with the ascending pattern from the primary theme.
The closing ends with a descending bass pattern with whole notes in the melody. The harmonic
rhythm slows down significantly to emphasize the end of the exposition. Finally, there is a half
cadence in c minor at measure 132.
Throughout the entire exposition there is an emphasis on longer notes. Many times a
longer note appears between many shorter notes, and it is emphasized dynamically with a
sforzando. This section also features rapid ascending and descending melodic movements. This
clearly contrasts with the beginning slow introduction. For the most part, Beethoven follows the
rules of the exposition of a sonata. The primary theme is not very long and stays in the same key,
ending in a cadence. The transition changes to the secondary key, and the secondary theme
closes in a perfect authentic cadence in the secondary key. It is slightly odd that the secondary
key goes between major and minor instead of being strictly major. The closing begins normally
by doing repeated tonic, predominant, dominant, tonic patterns to confirm the new key, but then
returns to the old key at the end of the exposition with a half cadence. The exposition then
repeats as it normally does, but the second repeat ends with a dominant chord in g minor.
The development begins on measure 123 with the beginning Grave tempo. It begins on g
minor, but quickly modulates to e minor by the third bar. This small section uses material from
the introduction. It copies the same motif mentioned above and descends in the last measure to
end in a half cadence before returning to the faster Allegro tempo. It also uses the same
fortepianos at the beginning of each measure, except for the last measure, where it decrescendos
with the descending pattern. At measure 137, the key changes, and there is a new melodic pattern
that is similar to the ascending pattern in the primary theme with a bass pedal on Eb. However,
this melodic pattern crescendos and only lasts two bars. The melody then falls back down to the
tonic, and then ascends to the minor third in octaves. This is another repeat of the melodic motif
in the introduction. Then, these two patterns switch hands, and then the upper voice plays the
pedal on Bb, the dominant of the earlier pedal, while the bass changes notes rapidly, ascending
by leap and descending by step. The melody begins on Ab5 and descends all the way to B2. The
bass begins on E4 and descends to G1. This great descent takes up eight measures and leads into
the stand on the dominant typical of developments. During this descent harmonic rhythm slows
significantly just as the closing from the exposition. The stand on the dominant begins on
measure 167, and continues for twenty-eight measures. Melodically, an arpeggio moves through
four different patterns twice, shown in musical example 4. This is followed by the ascending
pattern from the primary theme. Next, a trill descends by step in the top voices. Finally, the bass
drops out and a descending eighth note melodic pattern leads back to c minor for the beginning
of the recapitulation.
This development is mostly typical of most developments in sonata form. However,
developments do not typically take material from the introduction as this development did. There
is great use of fragmentation of both of the earlier themes that are placed in the development.
The development modulates through many different keys, such as e minor and g minor, and
includes new material. Finally, the development ends with the retransition on a G, the dominant
of the original key.
The recapitulation begins on measure 195, in c minor, the original key. It repeats the
primary theme of the exposition pretty well, but changes the end of this theme so that it
modulates to Db major and then eb minor by measure 211. This section ends with a half cadence
in Db major. The transition begins in measure 211, using the descending melodic pattern from
the primary theme. This is absolutely different from the transition in the exposition. The
transition also modulates to f minor after having a half cadence in eb minor. The primary theme
of the recapitulation also ended in a half cadence and modulated to a key a whole step above.
This sequence continues as the material in f minor uses the exact same chords as the key change
in the beginning of the transition. The transition does manage to end in the same way that the
original transition ended, by using a melodic pattern that goes back and forth by half step at a
piano dynamic in only one voice, shown in musical example 5.
The secondary theme begins in f minor on measure 221. This theme begins with the same
material as the secondary theme in the exposition, but in f minor. It modulates to c minor in
measure 237, and repeats only three times, instead of the four times that it repeated in the
exposition. This theme ends with the repeated ornamentation pattern, just as it did in the
exposition, but ends with a perfect authentic cadence in c minor, the original key. The closing
begins on measure 277, and is similar to the closing in the exposition, except that it stays in c
minor. There are several codettas that each end with a cadence in c minor, but the closing ends
with a diminished F# seventh chord.
This recapitulation is different from a typical recapitulation. The entire purpose of a
recapitulation is to restate the exposition, using only the original key. This creates a contrast
between the two keys and firmly establishes which one is more important. Beethoven takes many
liberties with the secondary theme. There are several key changes that never occurred in the
exposition, when there should be none at all. Instead of taking away modulations, Beethoven
adds new ones, including a modulation to the key of f minor, a brand new key in the piece.
Overall, the recapitulation is shorter than the exposition that it is modeled after. The exposition is
122 measures long, while the recapitulation is only 99 measures long. Beethoven removes much
of the transition and a small part of the secondary theme. This brings the two themes closer
together. However, despite his many changes to the exposition in the recapitulation, Beethoven
still completes most of the closing as expected. Beethoven then leaves the ending open so that he
can finish with a coda.
Finally, Beethoven ends this piece with a coda that includes parts from the entire piece.
Beethoven begins the coda with the Grave tempo and the dotted sixteenth-thirty-second note
motif. This section also tonicises several different key areas such as G and f, as expected in these
slow sections. In measure 299 the Allegro molto e con brio tempo and style returns in c minor
with a c major chord. This section uses the ascending motif from the primary theme, and ends
the piece with five chords, each separated by three counts of rest that result in a brilliant perfect
authentic cadence in c minor.
This is a good example of sonata form. Beethoven follows most of the outline of sonata
form that we learned about in class. His sonata begins in c minor and the exposition,
development, recapitulation, and their individual parts can be recognized. He adds an
introduction with a different tempo that is used throughout the piece. He also ends the
recapitulation with a diminished seventh chord that leads into a coda. It is easy to tell that the
primary theme is in c minor and the secondary theme is in eb minor. Both keys can be heard
throughout, and there are several other keys used in the introduction, development,
recapitulation, and coda. These keys include g minor and major, the dominant of c, Db major, the
lowered supertonic of c, f minor the subdominant of c, and Eb major the mediant of c. These are
all expected modulatory keys except for Db Major. He uses a typical exposition and
development, but adds several key changes in the recapitulation that are unexpected.
Melodically, Beethoven uses several motifs repeatedly throughout the piece to connect all the
sections. All of these melodic motifs, from the introduction to the two themes in the exposition
all center on an ascension to the minor third. Perhaps this is why the secondary theme remains in
minor instead of switching to Eb major as expected. He makes extensive use of the ascending
pattern in the primary theme. Beethoven also uses dynamic contrast to emphasize longer notes
and important motifs throughout the piece. The piece ends with a perfect authentic cadence in the
original key.